The Doctor's Game
by Scandalous Sparkle
Summary: COMPLETE! The second rebellion failed before the attack on the capitol and now the son of Katniss and Peeta and the son of Annie and Finnick must compete. What happens though when the Doctor and his companion crash land during opening ceremonies?
1. Chapter 1 : Crash Landing

Chapter 1: Crash Landing

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><p>The ceremonies were just beginning to get underway and Echo Odair leaned against the chariot assigned to his district. He didn't know anyone else in the tributes area except for Jay Mellark, but even at that, it was only from association to his parents. Jay was too busy talking with another male tribute so Echo didn't even consider approaching him. Echo really disliked the games, his parents had taught him to dislike them. His mom had lost most of her sanity and his dad spaced out a lot, sometimes going off on random little rants about the most random of things. He supposed it was better than nothing, he could deal with his parents oddness, his parents could have been in a lot worse shape as could have Jay's, their parents had just gotten lucky.<p>

Echo's mother Annie and his father Finnick had joined forces with the thirteenth district of Panem along with Jay's parents Katniss and Peeta to try and overthrow the capitol. The capitol had once again crushed the second rebellion and the key people of the rebellion had stood trial for their crimes, President Snow personally choosing their punishments. Snow had found out that Echo's mother Annie had been pregnant and knew of Katiniss' fear of having kids and decided to use the information against them. Their kids were to have their names entered in the reaping drawings five times for every one entry, the two family's were to have their food and money cut off so they were an average couple living in victor's village, struggling for every coin in their pockets and fighting for the food on their tables, thus forcing their kids to have to enter their names for tesserae and even if their name was called and they won, they still had to have their names in the bowl for the chance to have to return to the competition all the way up until they were too old for the reaping.

Katniss threatened to never marry or have kids, putting a bit of a damper in Snows plans for all of five minutes. Snow forced Katniss and Peeta into marriage, a not so difficult task since they loved each other and Katniss' other love interest Gale was killed for his part in the rebellion. Snow could tell that Katniss wasn't going to go down without a fight after the forced marriage and certainly wasn't going to willingly have kids and so he did what he did best, he threatened to kill Katniss' sister and mother if she didn't have a baby in a timely manner. Katniss couldn't deny Snow's wishes because she loved her sister and mother very much and she conceded, giving Snow what he wanted. Snow had complete control over the Mellark's, Everdeen's and Odair's, a grip he could never lose.

So there they were, Echo and Jay, children of rebellion yet so loved by the capitol because of their parents. Excuses had been made for the rebellion and their punishments covered up so the capitol people were as oblivious to the truth as they had been since day one. Their parents stories were the stuff of fairytales here. Annie and Finnick married in a televised event during the rebellion, their son's birth major talk since the two had never hinted of their love before the rebellion. Their story had been they only joined the rebellion because Annie had been rescued district thirteen so Finnick had no choice, especially after Annie had found out she'd been pregnant with Echo. Katniss and Finnick on the other hand had a whole other story…

Katniss had been kidnapped from the games and they had threatened her life if she didn't help their cause. She had been pregnant with Peeta's baby, but the baby had been lost, the district blaming it on the capitol even though it had been their plan all along to take the baby away, one way or another. Peeta had been helpless and have been brainwashed by the rebellion upon his rescue, but in return for the cooperation of Katniss as the mockingjay of the rebellion, they were going to give her Peeta in return. The two did as they were told and survived, but were left heartbroken by the loss of their unborn child. Snow, being the generous man that he was offered to help mend this broken heart, throwing them a huge wedding in the capitol for all the districts to watch in on and when Katniss got pregnant, huge parties were thrown in hers and Peeta's honor, their sons birth televised and celebrated throughout the districts and capitol, just like Annie and Finnick had received with Echo. What Snow hadn't expected was for Katniss and Peeta to name their son Jay, their little mockingjay and their own form of a mini rebellion.

Really it was a miracle that Jay and Echo were still alive. Echo had been to the capitol many times in his seventeen years of life, at least once a year for his large birthday celebrations that Snow threw for him. In those trips, he made a mess of things, throwing fits, insulting the capitol citizens, leaking out small bits of the truth. Snow disliked this and had his own way of punishing Echo, telling everyone that he was too sick to leave the capitol just yet after his celebrations and Echo was forced to stay a while longer than his parents with Snow lecturing him about what behavior was expected of him. Still Echo would take such treatments any day of the week over what Jay had to put up with.

Jay was a definite hit in the capitol, just like his parents had been. He had Katniss' fierceness and Peeta's charm, he was almost born to live in the capitol and it was hard to believe that he was from district twelve. Jay had already had his name called once for the games, he'd only been twelve at the time, his first year. Everyone had counted him out since no one that young had ever won; even Echo's own father had been a little bit older when he'd won his games. Jay had won the games by himself, hadn't teamed up with anyone and his parents hadn't even had to intervene much as his mentors, he was a fighter. Jay had returned as a mentor every year after that that his name hadn't been called and the capitol ate him up. He was the life of any party and Snow took a special interest in his life, trying to prep and control the boy to be his second in command and one day is successor.

Echo couldn't imagine such a life and thus pictured it as far worse than anything Snow had ever dealt him. Echo had been so lucky to just have his name called this one time, but Jay had been called a second time and was sure to be the favorite. Echo was expected to make allies with Jay, a boy he had never met but knew quite well. His parents had hopes that it would help with him getting more sponsors so who was he to deny them? His parents both had been victors, they knew what they were doing with giving him the valuable advice.

Echo had gotten lost in his musings of the past and his and Jay's lives and hadn't noticed Jay walk towards him until he was leaning with him against the chariot. " So what's with the seaweed skirt?" Jay asked nonchalantly with a small smirk.

Echo's brow furrowed as he laughed a bit, shaking his head. " Honestly I have no idea. My stylist Cotia is just a ditzy girl who thought to try and make me follow in my father's footsteps." He told Jay with a small laugh. Echo's father Finnick had been somewhat of a heartthrob of the capitol, a sex god almost, his stylist had mentioned that it had worked for his father so why not him?

Echolooked just like his father, none of his mother's traits seemed to take to him. He was tall, muscular in and athletic way, evenly tanned skin from hours working on the boats in the sun. His hair was a golden bronze that shimmered, even in the dull lights of the stables and he had green eyes that were deep, the color of the ocean and stood out. There was no denying he was Finnick Odair's boy, especially when dressed in nothing but a skirt made of seaweed

" Well it looks ridiculous on you. Seaweed though works since you're from district four, but still couldn't she have given you a fish tail or scales or something to cover up a bit more skin?" Jay joked. The two of them were talking and acting so easy around each other, like they were old friends even though they had never spoken before.

" Look who's talking. Your stylist looks like he was trying to make you into a sexy miner!" Echo pointed out, getting a laugh out of Jay.

" Yeah my stylist went with sexy look as well. She just kind of went off of past costumes since district twelve is still mining but most haven't gotten the hang of it yet." Jay told him as he ran his fingers through his hair.

After Katniss had been kidnapped from her second games, district twelve had been bombed, completely destroying it. After the failed rebellion, those who had fled to thirteen and were allowed to live were returned to the destroyed district to try and rebuild it, citizens taken from other districts to help boost population and thirteen survivors were sent there as well. It was still hard to tell what the actual industry of twelve was since so many new industries had kind of popped up.

Jay was dressed up in a pair of pale grey miner pants, a faded yellow hard hat. His cheeks, neck and chest had what looked like they had lipstick marks on them, but the lip shapes were made up with coal. The pants looked worn and slightly ragged but with his tasseled blonde hair and green eyes, Jay easily pulled it off and looked almost dazzling in it.

" Seems to be a theme… Think us being sexy is what's going to sell us this year?" Echo asked in a bored tone of voice, easy to tell that he really didn't care.

" Seems that way. Can't say I can complain though, have you seen the girl from one? I think she said her name was Sapphire, but I can't be positive. That girl though is going to be a distraction, I can already tell. She's in this dress made of clear plastic, diamond and sapphire flakes speckled in the material making the dress sparkle and shine with every movement, but there are regular sized gems clustered in certain parts of her dress to leave a little something to the imagination." Jay told Echo with a devilish smile, a small, almost dream like sigh escaping his lips.

Echo couldn't stop himself from trying to find the girl, curious about if Jay had been lying or not. " You do realize that it's pointless to try and make a move on her right? First chance she got she'd try and rip out your heart." He pointed out, giving up since it really didn't matter to him.

" Yeah I know, but still I can admire the work of her stylist. Sure she'll flirt with me now, but it was her brother Onyx who I killed to win my last games. I'll be lucky to be able to make it back into the careers pack with her in it. It is a shame though that I can't hook up with her, she's a true gem." Jay said shaking his head.

" Eh who knows, maybe you can bring her 'round, woo her and make games history by crossing into a whole new world of romance just like your parents." Echo suggested with a small shrug.

" Oh wouldn't that be something. To be able to hook up with Sapphire on the games, I wouldn't even want to face Flickerman at the end and see that footage. My mom would shoot me in half a heartbeat for deflowering a girl on camera." Jay told him, a wicked smile crossing his lips.

" If Sapphire is as beautiful as you make her sound, I doubt you'd be deflowering her." Echo joked. He really didn't remember Sapphire from the reaping highlights, he'd slept through most of them so it was still a mystery to him who everyone was.

Before Jay could respond to Echo's comment, everyone was being ushered to their chariots. With a huff, Jay wished Echo luck and went to his own chariot. Jay's partner was dressed up almost similarly, but Jay paid her no attention. Jay knew the girl quite well and didn't get along with her so he said nothing to her and didn't look at her. It was amazing that Jay got along better with the people of the capitol better than he did the people from his own still broken district. It wasn't uncommon though for the tributes from the same district not to talk or get along very well at first, most of the other tributes weren't talking to their partners.

Stylists came through and put their final touches together as the chariots started to roll out. It seemed normal enough, Echo was among the first to roll out since he was in district four. He smiled and waved at the crowds as they went wild. His fellow district tribute was in a matching seaweed skirt, but had starfish to cover her breasts, a bit of a cliché in Echo's opinion, but surely something someone like Jay would enjoy. Echo got bored rather quickly with the ride past the capitol citizens and had started to block them out. Well that was until he hear the sound of a wheezing whoosh mixed with the sounds of crashing and screams.

There was an explosion of dust just in front of Echo's chariot, the horses spooked and jerking away, knocking him and the girl beside him out of the chariot. Echo coughed and gasped for breath as he tried to stand up from being knocked flat on his back. Everything had fallen silent except for the cried of the horses and the crashes of the chariots, the horses trying to get away. Echo was shaky on his feet but peered into the settling dust, not prepared for the strange sight in front of him.

Just a couple of feet before him loomed a tall wooden box. It was blue and read ' Police Box' on the top. It was something he had never seen before and it took his breathe away a look of awe crossing his face. Jay dashed to his side and looked just as amazed by the box. All the tributes seemed to gather around it, no one daring to breathe let alone speak a word.

Jay looked at Echo for a moment before shrugging a bit and taking a step forward, his hand reaching towards the door since Jay felt no fear. At the particular moment however, the door swung open and a strange man and dark haired girl looked back at them with surprise.

" I take it that this isn't Tishus Eight…" The man said, reaching up to adjust a red bowtie around his neck.

" Doctor, where are we?" The dark haired girl beside him choked out, Jay stumbling backwards.

" That I don't know Beata…" The man named Doctor told her with an amused smiled as if it were a joke to him.

" Uh sir you're in the capitol." One of the female tributes whispered, her voice shaky.

" Capitol of what exactly?" The Doctor pressed eagerly.

" Panem. This is the opening ceremonies of the ninety-third Hunger Games." Jay spoke up, his voice steady and strong.

" Oh. Bother." The Doctor hissed just before peacekeepers rushed forward to swarm around the blue box and blocking the tributes from the man and woman within the strange box.


	2. Chapter 2 : District TARDIS

Chapter Two – The District of T.A.R.D.I.S

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><p>The peacekeeprs had their guns pointed directly at the Doctor and the girl he had called Beata. Echo and Jay still stood side by side, able to see the man and woman between the shoulders of the men and woman before them. The woman couldn't have been any older than either of the boys and she coward behind the Doctor who still had the stupid grin on his face and hands held up in surrender. His smile had only faded for half a second it had seemed, but now he couldn't quite shake it.<p>

" I'm sorry, we seem to have crashed your celebrations, but if you'll just give me five minutes, my companion and I will be on our happily little way." The Doctor told the peacekeepers in a chipper voice. The way he was acting, one would have thought it was a joke, despite all the guns aimed for his chest and head.

" State your name, business and district." One of the bulkier peacekeepers barked.

The Doctor didn't seem to like the way he was being talked to and the smile instantly faded. " I'm the Doctor and this is my companion Beata, or rather Amara Beata. We're not from around here as you can tell. We'll just on our way in just a moment, I swear."

" You're not going anywhere but to President Snow. Now you and your companion come with us, tributes continue on towards the training center." The way the peacekeeper said it, none of the tributes argued and they all walked in silence towards the training center.

" Now hang on a second, tributes? Those are just children, what are you doing to them?" The girl with the Doctor demanded.

" They're proud participants of the Hunger Games, now move before this gets messy." That was the last thing Echo and Jay heard from the peacekeepers as they emerged into the square where none of the usual excitement was evident.

Echo and Jay stuck close together, they knew from their parents what happened when the capitol lost its excitement and the games were tampered with. If they didn't play their cards right and the man and woman in the box didn't as well then there was going to be hell to pay. Snow wasn't going to be very happy about a man and woman in a box literally crashing his festivities, this everyone seemed to know. Not one word was uttered by anyone in the square as people looked around frantically.

It seemed like hours of just silence and heavy breathing. Echo and Jay were both on edge, ready for a fight. They knew all the stories, knew the truth about the capitol and Snow, they were on edge. Their hands balled in fists at their sides as they seemed to looked twitchy, jumping at any noise and randomly scanning the crowds any sign of the coming punishment.

When Snow stepped out and on the stage, nobody dared to move and all eyes were trained on him, fear, confusion, anger mixing into the expressions of the people before him. " This man, the Doctor comes from the district of T.A.R.D.I.S, a district that the capitol had hoped to keep a private matter since it is still an experiment. The Doctor and his young companion have come here to compete in the games. His companion wanted her chance at the glory and honors that the games have to offer. As the President, a kind and benevolent man, I have agreed to allow her to compete in our games. She will stay with District twelve and will train with all of you other tributes. My apologies to your stylists, but I must keep this short and we cannot redo our march." He told them, actually sounding sincere and genuine.

Echo tuned him out as he got back to tradition and started talking about the Treaty of Reason. He looked at Jay who had his own stupid grin on his face, making Echo roll his eyes. The cameras were trained on the two of them because of their fame and Jay couldn't even keep his obvious glee of having a new girl in his tribute quarters? There was no way the poor boy was going to make it out of arena alive if he kept falling for every girl with a pretty face.

When Snow had finished his traditional speech, the tributes were all ushered to the training center. Standing in the middle of the training center, by the elevators, was the strange companion. She was beautiful, even Echo could see that. She had dark black hair that she kept pulled back in a messy style, her blue eyes were the color of warmer waters, teal and inviting. She wasn't smiling, but already around her eyes there were small crinkles that showed she smiled a lot and she had the face that let you know it lit up when she was happy. She was tall for a girl and thin, she was just a beauty with pale skin that looked soft to the touch and so inviting. She wasn't going to last long on her own in the games…

She stared at us, her mouth actually dropping, getting a couple snickers from a few of the tributes. Jay though was the first one to compose himself. " You're from district T.A.R.D.I.S? I'm from district 12, or at least what's left of district 12." He told her as he stepped forward, hand extended to shake hers. " I'm Jay, Jay Mellark. You've probably heard of my parents Katniss and Peeta Mellark."

The charming smile that Jay had on his face usually won him favors with girls, but Beata seemed to be immune to them. She seemed extremely hesitant and confused as she took his hand and gave it a quick shake, dropping his hand like it was a diseased thing. " Yeah I guess I'm from T.A.R.D.I.S, but you can probably just call it Gallifrey, I'm sure the Doctor won't mind. I don't exactly know who your parents are, this is new to me…. I guess you can call me Beata though, that's what everyone else does." She sighed, sounding like it was a struggle to even talk to Jay.

Jay's sile slowly started to fade and Echo couldn't help but laugh a bit and shake his head. He had opened his mouth to say something when one of the escorts emerged from the elevator and started to usher them towards the elevators hastily. Echo patted Jay's shoulder sympathetically, following him into the elevator. For the two not actually having met before, they got along remarkably well and acted almost like brothers. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard for them to partner up for a little while in the games? Echo would keep Jay from getting too distracted by the girls and Jay could help Echo get over his unease of killing children his own age.

Echo tried to shake the thoughts of killing another kid his age, he wasn't going to survive long by lingering on it. He leaned against the wall of the packed elevator, closing his eyes and trying not to be too nervous about the fact that in the morning he was going to be learning how to kill those surrounding him, wondering how Jay had been able to cope with it before and still seemed so at ease to be facing it again.

Seeming to sense that something was wrong with him, Jay clapped a hand down on Echo's shoulder, giving it an encouraging squeeze. " Just relax man, the capitol folks are great. They'll get you anything you'd like and enjoy your time. You've got a couple of days, why not make the best of them? You know as well I do all the wonders the capitol has to offer." He pointed out.

Jay had a poit, Echo knew all the fun they could have in the capitol and it did help ease his mind greatly. " Yeah the food and people here are pretty amazing. Who knows, maybe I'll win one of the ladies hearts and be rescued from the games." He joked as they reached the fourth floor. He wished Jay a good night before stepping out with his fellow tribute, Marina, and they went to meet with their escort and mentors, Echo's mother and father looking already like someone had died even though Echo was still alive and well.

" Well let's get started with coaching you two, you're going to need all the help you can get, that Doctor is a fierce one and Beata is a mean little girl." Finnick sighed as he motioned for the two to follow him, Annie and the couple other mentors to the dining room to snack and discuss game plans.

Echos mind wasn't on his parents or the games at the moment, but rather Echo and his two female companions….


	3. Chapter 3 : Humor Me

Chapter 3 – Humor Me

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><p>Jay ground his teeth as he, Beata and the other district twelve tribute Jaide waited for their floor. Slowly the other tributes and the one escort left the elevator. Jay had tried to make conversation with Jaide, but she had just told him to shut up. Apparently he had done something sometime in his life to really tick her off and even though they were about to face their deaths in a few days time, she wouldn't even give him the decency of explaining herself and what wrong he had done.<p>

" You shouldn't grind your teeth, it's bad for them. Wouldn't want that pretty smile to look terrible now would we?" Jaide told him in a poisonous tone, her face turned ahead of them, not even able to look at him.

Jay's eyes narrowed a little bit as he tried not to lose his temper. He completely forgot about Beate, too focused of Jaide. " It's not too late you know? I could easily kill you now and they'll just send a replacement from home." He pointed out.

" You wouldn't do that. I volunteered to be here, you wouldn't force another tribute to come here unwillingly." She pointed out with a smug smirk, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

She had a very good point. Jaide knew he wouldn't let someone come to the games unwillingly, if he could have volunteered, he would have volunteered to take every unwilling male tributes place. He'd never kill her and let another poor girl come to the games. Jaide's family had come from district one, they had volunteered to go to district twelve, but hadn't renounced their career tribute ways. Jaide with her long blonde hair, pale skin and bright blue eyes didn't seem to fit in anymore into the Hunger Games anymore then Beata and her mentor the Doctor did, but Jay wasn't stupid enough to underestimate her. He'd seen her train around the district and knew she was a force to recon with.

" You're right, I'd wait to kill you _in_ the games so I can get credit for it and possibly get more sponsors, not to mention the relief of not having a gamemaker's twist that day. Oh how grand that would be to know that I'd be free of you and I'd get to save my hide for a day. That could be the best thing you could do for me, get me a day of rest and make it so I'm one step closer to freedom again." He sighed with relief, closing his eyes to picture it once they had gotten free of the district eleven tributes.

He had a smug smile on his face, but the disappeared as he suddenly started wheezing and doubled over in pain. " Too bad gamemaker's couldn't see that, that might have earned me some brownie points with them." Jaide snapped. She had full on punched him square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

" You bit-" He gasped out just as the doors opened, his mother interrupting him.

" Jay Mellark watch your tongue!" She hissed stomping into the elevator to grab him by his ear, dragging him out of it, Beata and Jaide following with looks of fear on their face. Katness Mellark was not someone you wanted to mess with.

" Mom!" He gasped out, not even trying to fight her since she was stronger than him.

" You know better than to treat a lady like that." She hissed stopping them just outside of the dining room.

" She hit me in the stomach." He protested once she let go of his ear and he straightened up and tried to get some dignity back.

" You deserved it. Talking about killing me during the games, as if you could lay a finger on me." Jaide scoffed.

" Would you two shut up for five minutes! You are making district twelve look like nothing but spoiled heathens in front of our guest Beata." Katniss snapped. Jay had completely forgotten about Beata in the elevator, too fixed on Jaide.

Jay rolled his eyes and leaned against a wall, crossing his arms with a small huff. " Sorry mom… Where's dad and the other mentor's?" He asked curiously and tried to peer around his mother who had moved to block their view.

" You're father's busy discussing our current situation with the other mentor's from twelve and the one from T.A.R.D.I.S because we don't know what we're doing here." Katniss sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

" The Doctor's in there? Is he OK?" Beata demanded, suddenly looking terrified.

" Yes, of course he is. Snow isn't a complete idiot and neither are we. I'm sorry Beata, but you're going to have to go along with everything that's happening." Katniss told him in a calm voice that she used a lot with Jay to try and make things not seem half as bad as they actually were.

" OK, so now can we meet with the mentor's? I could really use some sleep if I'm going to be any good tomorrow." Jaide said in an annoyed voice that made Jay want to snap at her again.

" In a moment. Peeta and James wanted a moment to talk with the Doctor and the others since Snow's insisted that we split up our group as a sign of ' good faith'." Katniss told Jaide, also sounding annoyed.

" Great! Just great! Isn't it enough that I'm back here for a second time, do they really need to split up our team?" Jay groaned as he pulled away from the wall and started down one of the halls towards the bedrooms.

" Where do you think you're going?" Katniss called after him.

" To the one sane place in this whole city." He called back over his shoulder before going out a door and emerging onto the roof.

Jay took a deep breath, the cool night air filling his lunges and seeming to suck away any of his stress and worries. When Jay had been little, he'd had to join his parents in the capitol for the games, Snow had insisted on it. Snow had taken a strong liking to Jay and had even confided in him that he wanted Jay to one day be President when he could no longer do it. There were nights when Snow would show or tell Jay something that would terrify him and he'd have nightmares that would send him running to his parent's beds. His father had felt bad that Jay had to deal with such terrible things and so he would bring him out to the roof to show him that there was beauty in the capitol, he just had to look past what Snow showed or told him.

Ever since then, every time Jay would get overwhelmed as a mentor or when he'd been a tribute, he'd come out on the roof to try and clear his mind. It didn't always help to get him to get something off his mind or find a solution, but it did help calm him down considerably. It really was the one place he felt like he could breathe and be himself. His mom never disturbed him when he came out on the roof, knowing it was time for him to work things out for himself. His dad had been the one to show the roof to his mom and so his parents occasionally came out on it for a bit of a break or a miniature date and that was the only time Jay tried hard to steer clear of the door to the roof.

Jay leaned on the railing and looked down at the city. He'd tried once to jump off the roof, his year as a tribute. He'd just bounced back however, Snow being too smart to trust roof access to a desperate child. The city below seemed to have returned to normal, parties starting up and Jay knew that had he not been a tribute, he'd be enjoying the parties below. Jay did want to be with them, making illegal bets on tributes, drinking, eating his fill, what he would give to be with them.

The door opened and Jay's head snapped up to see his dad standing in the doorway with a bottle of champagne in one hand and wine in the other. " I won't tell your mom if you won't." He said holding the two bottles up in a peace offering.

Jay laughed and turned to face his father, leaning back on the railing. His dad wasn't nearly as strict as his mom, which wasn't a surprise since his dad had been the one who had really wanted kids. " My lips are sealed as usual." He promised his dad as he took the wine from him and managed to get the cork out with his teeth.

" Good, right now I don't think I could take you mom's temper. She's mad about this Doctor guy and the girl, she's not buying Snow's story and the Doctor has no choice but to go along with it for a few more days, at least until he knows everything." Peeta said, setting the champagne bottle down and took the wine bottle, taking a large swig of it.

" He seems a bit on the crazy side of things. The way he kept smiling at the peacekeepers when he crashed, it made me wonder if there's not something missing in his brain. At least Beata seems to have some sense of how dangerous this is." Jay sighed, taking the bottle back and taking a large drink.

" That she does… You're going to need to work with her as well. The Odair's have agreed with you mom and I, it's better to align with the Beata and the Doctor until we know what they're capable of. This isn't going to be like your last games Jay, you're actually going to have to stick to an alliance." His told stressed as he ran his hand through his blonde hair.

Jay groaned and hung his head, shaking it in defiance. " I can't do that dad. Alliances worked great for you and mom, you both made it out alive as did Finnick, but I can't do it. I know how it still haunts mom, the memories of those she aligned with and died. Mom got attached and I don't want to risk that. You know she still scolds me for singing that meadow song, the one she sang to that district eleven girl who died?" He told him grimly, knowing that he would follow in his mother's footsteps. He may not have gotten much from his mom, but he did get her fierceness and need to protect those weaker then himself.

Peeta placed a hand on Jay's shoulder and turned him around to face him. " Jay, you're mother and I just want you to make it out of there alive. It was horrible to see you in the games before, imagine what it's going to do to us this time? Your mother may not have wanted this life, but you mean the world to her just as you do me. You're our son, our little boy and we just want what's best for you. We had hoped you'd live in a better world, but since that hasn't happened yet, we have to make due. Snow is going to do what he can to help you too, but you have to still humor us and at least try and do as you're advised."

Jay hated knowing that his father was right and relaxed in defeat. He pushed the bottle back into his father's hand, not wanting to look him in the face. " Mom's probably expecting me to go to the meeting." He muttered before steeping around Peeta and heading back in.

He thought he was prepared for anything, but nothing could have prepared him for the Doctor…


	4. Chapter 4 : The Truth Hurts

Chapter 4 – The Truth Hurts

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><p>Jay stopped in the entry to the dining room, his eyes wide at the sight of the Doctor. He really hadn't been able to get a good look at him when he'd fallen from the sky, he'd been too worried about retaliation. If anyone knew Snow, it was Jay. He knew how angry he was probably because of the interruption. Knew he'd want retaliation. Knew that whoever had been in that box wasn't safe and neither were the people around him so he really hadn't paid much attention to him or Beata. Well he had noticed Beata, he'd have been stupid not to have. Looking around, he saw Beata standing in a corner, her brow furrowed and tears streaming silently down her face as she stared at the ground, looking nothing at all like the girl in the box or from the elevator.<p>

The Doctor on the other hand looked ecstatic, something a tribute never saw his or her mentor as any time before the victors night or when leaving the arena. He was pacing the room, his arms flying around as he ranted on and on about something that Jay didn't know yet. There was writing on one of the walls, weird symbols and random words, also making no sense to Jay. The Doctor did look funny though as he paced quickly, his bowtie starting to falling apart, hair a mess and tugging periodically on his suspenders. The funniest thing about him however was his accent, it was so strange, even stranger then the capitol's and one he had never heard before.

" Sexy Thing shorted out because of Beata's drink spilling on the mainframe. She's never shorted out before so maybe this was no accident? Well of course it's no accident, Sexy Thing would never make a mistake and has never been damaged by a silly spilled drink, she's too old for that and she only does this kind of thing on purpose because we're needed here... This is brilliant! Just brilliant! Don't you see this Beata, you get to see the future of your country! This is what the future holds for your children!" The Doctor exclaimed as if it was a good thing.

Beata's head snapped up at that instant and she shoved the Doctor away since he had gotten in her face. " Brilliant? _Brilliant_?" She shouted, her face turning red with anger. " I'm seventeen years old and now I have to risk my neck and you think it's brilliant? Have you truly gone off your rocker?"

The Doctor looked dazed for a second and looked at her curiously. " You're really scared aren't you Beata?" He asked softly, seriousness finally settling over him.

" She should be!" Jay finally shouted, all the heads in the room turning to look at him. " She's obviously not from Panem, she just crashed Snow's celebrations which are more important now than they ever were in the past and she doesn't know what she's facing!" He explained, his face starting to turn red from anger.

" Jay." His father's voice came from behind him in his soothing voice. His hands come down on his shoulders, but Jay just shrugged them off without a second thought, taking a step forward.

" No, she needs to know and so does he. These aren't for fun and games, these aren't fun in any way. This is my second time in these games, my father lost a leg, my mother lost a baby, twenty-three children _die_ in this every year. My parents have killed people, my mother held my father as he lay dying, barely able to save him, she held a little girl no older then twelve as she died, everyone in this room has killed and almost been killed to be here. The only ones excluded from that are you Doctor, Beata there and Jaide. I'm the only person going back into that arena who's already been there. I barely made it and I don't know if I can do it again, she should be scared!" He shouted, not caring about the stunned looks the other mentors were giving him.

" I think that's enough Jay." His father told him firmly, but Katniss held up a hand to stop him from saying anything more that usually followed ' that's enough' in his lectures.

" No Peeta, Beata and the Doctor deserve to know the truth. Beata is a tribute, she's going to train with the other twenty-four, Snow's going to force her into that arena and she's going to have to fight for her life. Jay has every right to not sugar coat this, you and I both know this. The three of us have been in that arena twice, he stole you from me, threatened to kill everyone I loved and succeeded in killing your entire family and Gale and has forced us into despicable things." She told Peeta calmly, her eyes never leaving the table in front of her.

Peeta fell silent and Jay dropped his gaze. " You're right Katniss, he does have every right to be doing this since none of us were going to speak up." He sighed, stepping around Jay to sit beside Katniss and took her hand in a loving gesture.

Beata stepped around the Doctor to look at Jay with a pale face and terrified expression. " Is this true? Your president really forces twenty-four of you to fight and kill each other?" She whispered, the Doctor staring at the space where she had been.

" Every word." He told her with a small nod of her head.

" He is telling the truth Beata. I've grown up knowing the glory and honor of the games, but there is a down side to it." Jaide whispered, Jay hadn't expected her to say anything.

The four other mentors in the room nodded in agreement, no one able to look Beata or Jay in the eyes. Jay mentally called them all cowards before taking his spot on the other side of his dad. " You don't have a choice in this anymore than we did, but as I offered Jaide on the train, I can help you in the training center. I can't guarantee in the arena, but I can help you learn the basic survival skills in the next couple of days." Jay told her with a small sigh, leaning back in his chair.

" The six of us have even offered to assist the Doctor in mentoring her just as we would any other district twelve or eleven mentor." Katniss spoke up, the other mentors agreeing as well.

" This still doesn't make this anymore right! How old are you Jaide?" Beate snapped.

Jaide looked stunned and it seemed to take her a moment to find her voice. " I'm sixteen, the same age Peeta and Katniss were when they first competed." She choked out.

" What about you Jay? How old were you when you first entered that arena?" Beata demanded, giving him a fierce look. She seemed dead set on whatever path her mind had started to wonder down and he wasn't going to try and derail her.

" I was twelve when I was drawn. Jaide volunteered for this, she knows what she's doing and I would have gladly volunteered to come had I had the chance." Jay told her boldly, his parents both seeming to hold their breath as he was sere memories were flooding back.

" Twelve? You were twelve when you faced everyone and you still survived?" Beata whispered, unable to believe it.

" Yes." He told her curtly. " I fought against people more than twice my size, all the odds were against me and I was able to make it out alive." He balled his hands into tight fists as he tried to suppress memories.

" I'd like to talk with you about these games and your experience in them. I've talked with these fine people about their times in the arena and I want to know about yours the most since you were so young." The Doctor suddenly said, turning around to face Jay with a determined expression.

He shrugged and moved to stand up. " Alright, let's go into the living room and talk further. Now's the best time before I get too preoccupied with training." He said, motioning for the Doctor to follow him into the sitting room.

Katniss tried to follow, but Peeta held her back, shaking his head. Jay was relieved because he didn't want to deal with his mom interrupting him as he told the story to the Doctor. The Doctor followed him out with Beata on his tail. He didn't care if Beata knew the story, it would possibly save him from having to explain it at a later point. The Doctor and Beata took seats on either side of the couch and Jay sat in one of the arm chairs.

" So where do you want me to begin?" Jay asked as he relaxed and seemed completely at ease. It didn't bother him or faze him to tell the story of his first games.

" Begin at the beginning, why couldn't someone else volunteer for you like they're able to do for anyone else in the district?" The Doctor asked as he leaned forward, truly curious.

" Alright, so it all started when my parents had their games and my dad confessed his love…" He told them with a small sigh, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to recall every detail his parents had told him about why he was being punished for their troubles.

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><p>Yay! Four chapters in three days, go me! More to come and I'm gonna do my best to update daily!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5 : Bad Memories and Decisions

_**Did my best not to make it too gory.**_

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><p>Chapter 5 – Bad Memories and Big Decisions<p>

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><p>The Doctor and Beate fell silent, their eyes trained on me as I fidgeted a bit, bouncing my leg a bit nervously. I couldn't even meet their eyes as I told them the truth about my parents. About their two times in games, Snow's threats, the faked love and baby and the rebellion.<p>

" When the rebellion had finally gained the support of all twelve of the districts, they decided it was time to move to the capitol. My parents were in the same squad, even after my father had tried to strangle my mother to death thanks to Snow's hijacking him, and that squad was moved to the outskirts of the capitol. They were just supposed to do a few things on camera, everything was supposed to be low-key, but that changed instantly. There was a spy among the district thirteen ranks and word spread quickly to Snow. Snow didn't waste a second and was able to ambush the troops, forcing them to surrender." Jay told them softly.

" But Snow didn't do anything terrible to them, they're still alive." Beata pointed out, speaking as if she were scared to say anything.

" Oh no, he did do something terrible. He forced my parents into a marriage, threatened my aunt and grandmother's lives if she didn't have a child in a two year period and imposed new rules upon myself and Echo, the boy I was talking with earlier. His parents had been captured in the rebellion, but it was just lucky that Annie had gotten pregnant right away with Echo and so Snow got the idea of forcing my parents into have a kid too so he could gain some favor and still punish our families." I tell her with a small, humorless laugh.

I explain to them the secret rule about us having five entries for every one entry in the reaping bowl, still having to compete even after having our name drawn twice and the volunteer portion. " You see, when a person's name is drawn, another can volunteer to take their place. My mom did it for her sister and I would have done it for any of my friends, but Snow had other ideas. Echo and I weren't allowed to volunteer for anyone else and no one could take our places in the games."

" That's terrible!" Beate gasped, but I just shrugged it off.

" That might be true, but I have a feeling that's not the worst of it." The Doctor said as he leaned back against the couch and started bouncing his leg, deep in thought. " Anyway, let's hear about these games. You were selected, your parents have already explained to us your method of teaming up with career tributes for training and you got a ten on your training school, whatever that is, but I want to hear about when you were in the games." He insisted.

Jay took a deep breath, fighting the tightening feeling in his chest that happened whenever he knew he couldn't escape the dirty details of the games. " I'm going to warn you now, it's not a pretty story." He whispered. As he closed his eyes, he suddenly could visualize himself standing on the plate in the cornucopia.

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><p>" <em>Ladies and gentlemen, let the ninety-first annual Hunger Games begin!" Claudius Templeton's voice boomed overhead. The twenty four of us all looked at each other, some mouthing the countdown, looking focused and feral. The voice came from overhead and echoed off of the trees around us, the trees so thick that one could only see the small clearing where the cornucopia was and left a lot to a person's imagination about was was just beyond the trees if anything at all.<em>

_He look around at his fellow tributes, they're all older than him and twice his size. He was able to prove himself to gamemaker's and the career tribute pack, but he didn't think it was going to be enough since he didn't intend to actually team up with anyone. He'd learned from his parents mistakes, alliances were never a good thing. It would only take the careers a moment to find out that he wasn't going to work with them since he wasn't going to meet up with them at the mouth of the cornucopia._

_Jay counted down in his head, crouching down into a position to be able to bolt forward. There were two backpacks, a whip, iron kettle and crowbar straight ahead of him. He didn't know where his fellow district twelve tribute was, but she was strong enough to take care of herself, she'd already proved that in training. He only had to focus on himself, he'd promised his parents he would come home and Snow had given him his word that he'd be taken care of in the arena and he trusted Snow in that because he was too valuable to Snow._

_When the gong went off, Jay made a mad dash to the items he had set his eyes on earlier. He made it to the items first, just slipping the first pack on his shoulders when someone had grabbed the second one. He looked up with a wicked grin, now was his chance to show the tributes he wasn't on their side. Standing before him, one hand on the bag was a boy from district one, Onyx. He had been so smug in training, but he had gotten a lower score then me. I had gotten the highest score; no one had achieved a twelve so he was going to be a targeted for sure since he wasn't about to team up with anyone. Onyx was probably going to be mad when he realized the betrayal, but what did Jay care?_

" _Let go of this bag runt, you carry one to camp and I'll carry one and you'll still seem like a contributing part of the pack." Onyx said with a small snicker._

" _Oh Onyx, how dense you are… I hope you're sister isn't too cute and is watching this, hate to have a cute district one girl hate me." He told Onyx confidently as his hand wrapped around the handle of the small iron pot, not really thinking about what he was about to do next._

" _What do you mean?" Onyx demanded, giving him a curious look._

" _This!" Jay shouted, swinging his arm forward with the iron pot. The pot made a loud noise when it encountered his head, causing a loud groan and curse to leave his lips. Jay didn't stop there however as his other hand got the crowbar. " I'm not a runt." He growled as Onyx collapsed to the ground._

_Jay took a heavy swing at Onyx's head, hearing his last breath escape raggedly. Jay quickly gathered up his second bag and ran from the cornucopia as fast as he could before one of the careers came after him. Lucky for him the cornucopia was surrounded by dense forest and he was able to climb up in a tree quickly. He could still hear the fight behind him as he began swinging from tree to tree, a talent his mom had taught him. He heard someone scream Onyx's name and then shout Jay's name in anger. He was dead if he didn't get too far away and he could already hear someone pursuing him…._

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><p>" Jay, can you hear me?" A voice asked soothingly and Jay jerked back. His mom was knelt down in front of him, his face in her hands.<p>

He felt like he had just run a mile. He was breathing heavy, sweaty and he felt sore all over. It had never happened to him before, but he had never tried to think so hard about the games. He stared at his mom for a moment as he tried to get himself back under control, his heart beating a mile a minute.

" Yeah, sorry. I'm exhausted, maybe tomorrow I'll tell you the story. I need to rest though if I'm going to be any good in training tomorrow." Jay told Beata and the Doctor, trying to sound a little bit normal.

Katniss gave him a worried look before helping him up. " We have the footage of the games, I'll show it to you tomorrow when they're at the training center." She told the Doctor, wrapping her arms around Jay and helping him to his room.

Peeta sat on the edge of Jay's bed, having already started a shower for Jay. Jay thanked him before getting in the shower and trying to forget about his small break down. He felt so weak and terrible, he really needed to get himself back under control if he was going to make it in the games. He couldn't show even the slightest bit of weakness, he needed to seem easy going, free, careless and as if the previous games were a distant memory. If his parents could do it and repress all the horrors they had seen, why couldn't he?

He slammed the shower off and started to dry off when he heard his parents whispering. He couldn't help but press her ear against the door to listen in on them as he dried off and got dressed

" This is just too much for him Peeta. Snow's influence and a second selection into the games, Snow's got something up his sleeve, I can feel it. This Doctor's appearance isn't just a coincidence, I can feel it in my bones. Jay is still just a boy, he can't even recall the games without having a panic attack." His mom whispered, her voice thick with worry.

" I know, I completely agree with you. Snow's trying to test him and us, we just need to act like this isn't as strange as it really is. We need to be supportive of our son and be confident that he has our fighting spirits. Snow wants Jay alive just as much as we do, we both know that and we both know that he's going to rig the games in his favor, Doctor or no Doctor." His dad told him mom in a confident voice, giving Jay hope that his parents could believe in him again.

He took that moment to recompose himself. In the morning he was going to train with Beata and he was going to make nice with her for Snow's sake just to be on the safe side. He'd go into the games with her and Echo as his allies and do what he could to make it out again. He didn't like the idea, but if his parents thought that Snow was really in on the Doctor's sudden appearance and Beata's participation in the games then Jay really had no other option but to trust his parents and hope that Snow knew what he was doing…


	6. Chapter 6 : Training

Chapter 6 – Training

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><p>The days seemed to fly by for Echo, day three of training only felt like day one to him. He'd wake up, eat breakfast, ignore his fellow district tribute Pearl, go to training, get help from Jay, come back to his quarters, eat and go to sleep. His days were boring and filled with silence. When he wasn't sleeping in the quarters, he was listening to his parents talk to him about what to do in the arena and trying knots in the rope he'd brought with him to be his one item in the arena, his token. It was a habit he'd picked up from his dad, but knot tying was the best way he could take out his anger, frustration, jealousy, boredom or just about any emotion he didn't want to deal with or his parents worried about.<p>

Echo used the rope a lot more during his time in the capitol, it was always stressful for him and he really seemed to using the rope during his lunch breaks in training as a way to avoid conversation. He sat with Jay, Beata and the other career tributes, but he didn't enjoy talking with them very much and they didn't particularly want to talk to him either it seemed. Beata wouldn't talk to anyone except Jay and Echo, but even then it usually wasn't very long before she'd fall silent and Jay flirted a lot with the girl from one almost nonstop, it all just got on Echo's nerves to the point where he'd abandon his food for working on his knots. The instructor in charge of knot tying and snares was genuinely impressed by Echo and liked to talk with him about knots, but Jay didn't let the two talk long since he kept trying to push Echo towards other skills.

Jay was like a drill sergeant when it came to training. It seemed like every time Jay or Beata got comfortable with one skill, Jay was pushing them towards something that neither of them knew anything about. He seemed to take great joy in watching the two struggle, especially Beata. Echo didn't get it, but figured there was some kind of method to his madness.

" I thought the Doctor was some great warrior? Shouldn't he have taught you something about fighting?" Jay mocked on the with a small shake of his head when they were at the archery range. Jay had yet to miss a shot, but that was because Katniss had taught him to shook and he had her natural ability just like Echo had his dad's natural ability in knot tying.

" I'm his companion. I'm just supposed to just travel around with him, see cool things, be the voice of reason and occasionally the distraction. It's not like I'm a soldier and trust me the Doctor wouldn't want to face my mom after making me actually fight in a battle, my mom scares the crap out of him." She told Jay with a small laugh as she tried to shoot and completely missed her target for the fourth time.

" So you just travel around time and space in that blue box? That's really all you do with him?" Echo asked as he concentrated on his shot, managing to get it just outside of the center ring. He didn't seem to be getting any better despite the fact that they had already spent twenty minutes trying to improve his aim.

" Drop your shoulder a bit more Echo, your still aiming too high. Also spread your legs and relax, you're too tense and your shaking a bit." Jay instructed Echo as he tried once more to help Beata find her stance. " Doesn't it get boring just traveling around with him? Annoying even? He's a bit over the top and seems like he's missing a few screws up top." Jay muttered as he stepped back to let Beata shoot, giving Echo a small, apologetic look having just realized he'd made a huge mistake.

Echo dropped his gaze, he hated when people talked about people who weren't mentally stable around him, but he especially hated it when people felt sorry for him because of his parents. Growing up he had to listen to all the talk about his parents. It was a struggle most days to keep his mom from retreating to her own special little world and his dad spent quite a bit of time mumbling to himself, making nooses out pieces of rope that he always carried with him. Jay knew that he was sensitive about it because he had a similar situation with his parents. There were times when Peeta would look at Katniss with a look of utter distaste and it was obvious that he still wasn't completely over his hijacking. Echo didn't know all the details, but Jay had to deal with his dad relapsing, his mom waking up screaming and Snow mocking them by showing old footage of his mom as the Mockingjay.

" Oh he is a bit off his rocker, but he's really a sweet guy. My mom traveled around with him when she was younger and so I grew up with stories of the marvelous Doctor who never grew older, my grandmother and great-grandfather loved telling me stories about him. A whimsical man who fought aliens, never backed down and wasn't afraid to step on a few feelings here and there. My mom bossed him around a lot though from what I heard, which isn't surprising. My mom's a bit head strong, it's a ginger thing I guess." Beata said with a small laugh as she took a few deep breaths to try and relax her enough to take the shot.

" Ginger? What's that mean?" Jay asked curiously as Echo took his shot and managed to get it dead center in the middle ring.

" It's a term for redheads, it's more of a joke." Beata explained, taking her shot and getting it in an outer ring. It wasn't quite good enough to kill, but enough to stop a person and get in closer with a more comfortable weapon or run.

" But your hair's black, not red. Wouldn't red hair be something passed down from parent to child?" Echo asked as he gave her a curious look.

Beata blushed as she got an arrow out of her quiver and examined it. " I'm actually adopted. My parents figured they were too old to actually have kids and so they adopted me. It's actually better in a way, if I was a true Temple-Noble, I don't think the Doctor could stand me." She snickered as she shook her head.

" Temple-Noble? Your name is Beata Temple-Noble?" Echo asked, the name sounding far too foreign on his tongue.

" Actually no, Beata is a nickname. My actual name is Aimi Amara Temple-Noble." She admitted, her blush growing deeper.

" Where did Beata come from then?" Jay asked as he handed more arrows to Echo since he was out.

" It was a nickname I got when my parents and I moved to America. I had a thick British accent when I started school there and when I went to say ' beat ya', it came out in strange way and everyone mocked me for it, calling me Beata. At first it sucked, but I got over it after a year or so and I mainly only ever go by it." She told them with a small shrug as if she didn't really care.

It sounded terrible to Echo, but before he could say anything, they were called to lunch. The three of them hung up their bows and set their quivers down before heading over to eat with the group. They took their usual spots with the career pack and started talking about past games. Jay got right into it, seemingly excited by the talk. Echo on the other hand got up and started to peruse the table spread out with all the food a person could ever want.

" You don't talk much around everyone else, why is that?" Beata asked softly as she moved to stand beside him.

He tried not to show he was a bit embarrassed that she had caught onto his secret and kept his eyes down on the food. " Things aren't easy for me like they are for Jay. I learned at a young age that it was better for me to just not talk too much to people from other districts." He sighed as he grabbed a plate and looked for something interesting to munch on.

" Why's that? Aren't these supposed to be your people? Jay explained to the Doctor and I all about career tribute pack and district four was one of the ones he mentioned to usually group up in it." She pointed out, just making him smile a bit.

" Yeah I'm expected to team up with them like the other tribute from my district, Oceania, but I'm not like them. I've spent a lot of time here in the capitol and know what it's really like here. My parents were victims of the capitol, not only did they capture my mom and do unspeakable things to her to try and get my dad to expose himself, but Snow made him into a plaything of the capitol. It's common knowledge that my parents aren't the most stable people in the world and unlike Jay's parents, my parents getting married wasn't the most welcomed thing since everyone seemed to want a bit of my dad. People talk about my parents every day in district four, I hear the whispers here in the capitol about how my parents shouldn't have been allowed to raise me and people think I'm weak because I don't come from a strong house. My parents both survived their games, my dad even did it twice and survived many things during his time in the rebellion." He explained, not able to focus on anything but the plate in his hands that he was gripping tightly.

" That's…. Echo, that's terrible." Beata whispered, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. " Both of your parents must have seen terrible things in their games."

" My mom was very close to her fellow district four tribute, I think she loved him even, but he was beheaded right in front of her which caused her to go insane. I think my dad helped her a lot after then when she got out, he was her mentor during her games and I don't think he's ever stopped mentoring her. My dad started slipping down his road when he got called for the games and so did my mom, but a friend of my dad's managed to volunteer for her. While in the games my dad encountered these birds that sounded like my mom screaming and he took some nerve damage, but it got so much worse when the captured and tortured my mom while my dad was helpless. I think he could deal with all the tributes he had killed, could deal with the fact that Snow forced him to let anyone in the capitol have their way with him, but he couldn't deal with my mom being in harm's way."

Beata was silent for a few moments, not really sure what to say. At that moment though, Jay came over and plucked and apple from between Beata and Echo. " Echo here though has his dad's strength and his mom's ability to adapt to new situations quickly." He told them with a grin.

" Yeah, says the man who's got unending gifts… Tell me, how many times did you get hurt in your last games that wasn't a simple scratch or minor burn?" Echo asked as he rolled his eyes.

" Well that was different, I was smaller and could hide easier. You're older than me, from a career tribute district, have been working on fishing boats all your life and spent hours out in the wilderness, you've got the advantage." Jay pointed out.

" I'm only a year older then you and my parents didn't intentionally teach me skills that I would use in the games as well as I haven't been in the arena once. As far as I can tell, the odds are more in your favor." Echo told him as he rolled his eyes and moved from the table to sit back down with the career tributes.

Beata and Jay followed shortly after and got right back into the conversation. Echo was silent though and kept his eyes on his plate, barely eating anything and just picking at it. His mind was thinking about his parents and about what they had faced in their games and having watched Jay battle it out, he wasn't too confident in himself. To be perfectly honest too, he didn't really have much going for him outside the games except that he needed to survive for his parents sakes. He couldn't imagine what it would do to them if he died and he didn't want to either. He just needed to start being stronger like Jay so he could make it, but there was one thing standing in his way and that was Beata.

He felt no hesitation to killing any of the other tributes aside from Jay, which odds were he wouldn't have to, but Beata was different. All the other tributes around him had grown up knowing this was a risk they were going to have to most likely face, a couple of them were even volunteers and knew exactly what they were doing. Beata on the on the other hand had no idea what she was going to be facing in the arena. She had no idea what dangers the gamemakers would throw their way in the name of entertainment. Beata was an innocent bystander who had been given the same death sentence as the actual criminals. Could he really kill someone who had no idea what the crimes of the districts were?

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><p><em>Still no reviews, guess I'm going pretty fine if no one's said anything negative. I really would love some kind of review so I know how I'm doing and if I need to changeadd anything..._


	7. Chapter 7 : Snake in the Flowers

Chapter 7 – Snake in the Flowers

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><p>Jay and Echo had gotten into a rather heated argument after lunch and it was all over how to make a proper noose knot, Beata had been struggling with getting it done properly. Even though it was the same outcome, the two boys had different ideas on how to get to the end result. Beata had long since been forgotten and several of the tributes had stopped their own training to watch the two shove each other, hear them yell and fight over the rope like two year olds. Really it was embarrassing, but the two were too caught up in their argument to notice.<p>

" You halfwit, if you had any idea on how to tie a knot properly, you'd know just how wrong you are!" Echo shouted red in the face. If anyone was an expert on tying any knot, it Echo because of being from district four, using knot tying as a release and his father had taught him almost every knot imaginable.

" And if you weren't so cocky, you'd know just how wrong you are!" Jay shouted back, shoving Echo again. Jay didn't take too kindly to being called a halfwit since he was the only one going into the arena's who was experienced.

Echo had finally had enough as he stumbled back from Jay's shove, his face had turned red and all he could think about was making Jay pay for what he'd done. He charged Jay without a second thought, knocking him to the ground. He had only gotten one good punch in before he was being wrenched away, but he was certain the punch had been a good one. He heard Jay curse as he was dragged to his feet as well and he saw it had been his dad who had done it. Oh yeah, Echo had gotten a great hit in.

" Let go of me." Jay shouted as he struggled against Finnick. Blood was coming from his nose and it was easy to tell it was broken, Echo's punch had grazed his cheek and hit his nose with full force. Jay didn't even try to cover his nose or stop the bleeding, in fact it didn't seem to have fazed him any.

" Knock it off Jay, you need to be the better man and just let it go. I can't believe you two are acting like this, like you're nothing more then toddlers!" Peeta hissed from behind Echo, confirming that he was the one holding him back.

" Echo you're making a fool of yourself and Snow just asked to see you. Is this how you want to remember this time or be seen in front of the President?" Finnick asked as Jay and Echo started to calm down and Echo jerked out of Peeta's tight grip.

" Snow probably just wants to see his golden boy." Echo said with a huff as he tried to regain some composure. His hand had started to throb, so he shook it, trying to ease the pain a little bit. He had hit Jay wrongly and was now paying for it.

" Actually he wants to see the both of you. He says it's important and so important that we had to come down to take you from training." Finnick told him as he slowly released his grip on Jay who just stood there with stiffly.

" Then let's go." Jay snapped before he glared at his father and the other tributes were being ushered to various training areas and told to get back to work.

The two boys said nothing else, their fathers taking it as signs of submission and started to lead the two boys from the training center to Snow's mansion. The boys said nothing and didn't look at each other for most of the walk, but Echo felt bad for what he had done. He had a terrible temper, but what was worse was that he really had no idea how to control it and events like punching Jay happened. If he was going to make it past the first day, he was going to need Jay's help and Jay was a good friend of his and his family's, his mother would highly disapprove of making an enemy of the son of her only remaining female friend who had rescued her and the man who decorated the beautiful cake at her wedding all those years ago.

He took a deep breath before looking at the red, slightly bruised and swollen part of Jay's cheek and slightly crooked nose. " I'm sorry Jay, I shouldn't have done that. That really was a stupid move, a knot really isn't anything to break a guy's nose over and I shouldn't have crossed the line like that." Echo sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He didn't know what Snow wanted, but he was sure he wouldn't be happy to have Jay and him in less than perfect shape.

Jay didn't say anything at first, but slowly he seemed to relax and shook his head. " I shouldn't have shoved you. Honestly a knot is a stupid thing to fight over at this point in time." He said, holding out his hand to Echo, causing their dads to let out sighs of relief.

" Uh sorry but I think I might have done some big damage to my hand when I punched you. I'll shake your hand another time for sure" Echo told him with a small laugh, holding out his hand to show it was red and slightly swollen which made Jay laugh a bit.

" That's what you get for acting without thinking. I know your mother and I taught you better than that." Finnick told Echo in a tone that left little to no doubt that he was glad his son had received some kind of injury for having lashed out the way he had.

Echo rolled his eyes and dropped his gaze as they entered the mansion. He had been in the mansion many times and knew it better then then his own house it seemed, but it didn't stop the chills from running through him as if ice water had been dumped down his back. Jay didn't seemed like he minded the mansion one bit, he held his head up high and even had a look on of pride his face. It was easy to tell why Snow had chosen Jay as his favorite from the two of them and why he wanted Jay to run Panem when he eventually passed.

A dark haired male avox met them just inside the door and motioned for them to stop. He pointed to Jay and Echo before starting to walk away from them and into an office just to the right of the front entrance. Peeta and Finnick gave them encouraging strong looks as they stood in the entrance, arms crossed and looking like they were ready for anything. The avox had made it clear that the meeting was just suppose to be between the two boys and Snow, something not too uncommon since they had both had several one on one meetings with the President. Jay and Echo didn't have much choice but follow the avox and just hope for the best, giving their dads confident looks before entering the office.

" Ahh my two favorite boys in all of Panem. I heard about your little moment in training a few minutes ago. I'm not going to have it released and I'll have your injuries taken care of as well. Your stylists have been informed and are working on ways to cover it up for your interviews. You two have just gotten lucky to have me looking out for you because a little stunt like that could have lost you all your sponsors easily." A cool voice told them with a small laugh from a window directly across from the door.

The avox bowed and left the room, closing the doors behind him. Snow turned around to give them both a wicked smile that Echo had never liked but knew it was his kind smile. Beside Snow stood a girl about nineteen who was blond, thin and kept her eyes cast down. She looked beautiful to the two boys and they knew exactly who she was, Lillian Rose, Snow's great-granddaughter. The two boys exchanged a small, confused look before looking right back to Snow.

Snow hadn't changed at all in all his years as President. He kept having surgeries to make him younger and his attitude hadn't changed any. The only thing really that had changed about him was that he hardly ever went out of his mansion and he wore more roses so he smelled stronger of the roses and less like blood.

" Come now boys, is this any way to treat your grandfather? Take a seat, this will only take a moment of your time and then you'll be returned to the training center. I've arranged for you two to have a little bit of private time to make up for what you're missing now, but you'll have to wait until the other tributes leave." He told them as he took a seat behind his rose covered desk, Lillian remained standing however.

The two boys moved mechanically to the two plush chairs in front of his desk and tried to relax. While Jay was more comfortable with Snow, it couldn't have meant anything good for him to pull the two from training and bring them to a meeting in front of one of his family members and it actually struck a little fear in him.

" That's very generous of you grandfather, you'll have to excuse our manners though. We've just been tired from training and it's been a while since either one of us have been in your beautiful mansion." Jay told him with a small smile, seemingly at ease. Since he had spared their parent's lives, Snow liked to call himself the grandfather of the two boys and dictated that they call him grandfather instead of President or sir. Neither of the boys liked doing it, but they didn't really have a choice in the matter.

" Ahh yes, your birthday celebrations really were quite a long time ago and I'm sure that you've been working extra hard, especially with our little wildcard, what was her name again?" He asked as he drummed his fingers on his desk in an irritated manner. He didn't seem too worried about her name, she didn't see to mean much to him at all, but there was a slight hint to his voice that let them know she was a pest that needed to be smashed under his very expensive, custom made shoes.

" Beata. The girl from district T.A.R.D.I.S is named Beata." Echo chimed in as he relaxed back in the chair, wondering if he just wanted to have a nice little chat with them instead of something worse. He couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed by Snow for taking them out of training just to have a pointless conversation.

" Beata… Such a pretty and unique name, befitting such a beauty such as her. She is a feisty one though, nearly caused a couple of peacekeepers to go deaf. She's strong headed and doesn't seem to take change lightly or being told what to do." He laughed, actually seeming amused by the memory.

" Yes well she has shown that side of her in training and in the district twelve quarters. Doctor seems to encourage it however so it's gotten a tad bit on my nerves if I do say so myself." Jay sighed, brushing something of the leg of his training suit.

" Well that's actually good to know because that helps me to be more confident in what I'm about to ask of you two boys. I'm sorry to say but I simply can't have Beata come out of the games as a victor and I'm prepared to make you boys a deal that you would be fools to turn down." He told them both with a stern look, one to let them know that he was done talking about Beata in such a nice way.

Both boys adjusted themselves uncomfortably in their seats, guessing that the pleasantries were over. " What do you mean grandfather?" Jay whispered, truly confused as he gave Snow a quizzical look.

" I'm saying that I can give you both what you want and what your families want or need. I can guarantee you two will make it out of the arena alive, together so that you won't have to split up your little alliance you two have already formed, your families will receive their rightful money and food supplies as well as the honor that comes to a victor and a few nice little extras." He told them with a small shrug, seeming to not be too interested himself.

Echo couldn't help but perk up at this and moved to sit on the edge of his seat. " What extras?" He asked all too eagerly.

Snow smirked, knowing he had their full attention because even Echo was sitting up taller and his full attention on Snow without a single ounce of his arrogance or self-confidence. " Well my dear Echo, for you I would have your parents properly treated for what illnesses have befallen them, a home away from even the victor's village on the water so you can have true privacy and I won't make your mother watch you in the arena. Poor little fragile Anniw won't have to mentor you from the usual spot, but rather someplace more comfortable as to not cause more damage by watching her only child, her little boy, fight for his life, kill others and struggle to make it to the end. Just imagine it, no one to whisper about your mothers lack of social graces because of her nervous and terrified ticks, your father returning to normal with no more worries about your mother or you and never have to worry about the stares following you anymore." Snow told him in a soft, tempting voice.

Echo's jaw had dropped and he found himself speechless. Snow knew his weaknesses, what he really wanted and was willing to give him what he wanted. It sounded too good to be true but too good to pass up. He couldn't help but just gawk at him and even when Jay spoke up, he couldn't be brought back from his thoughts of what it would be like to have what Snow was promising him. His parents back to normal, privacy and a normal life befitting a family of victors.

" What about me?" Jay asked in an emotionless voice after a few moments.

" You my dear boy I had to really dig for since you always seem to content with that you have." Snow snickered as he shook his head in a disbelieving motion. " I will give your mother the freedom to hunt whenever she would like, wherever she wants, your fathers art will be portrayed in every district, a must have in every capitol home, your father's bakery will bloom and grow like never before and both your parents will have something returned to them."

" Something returned?" Jay asked her brow furrowing. What Snow had offered him so far hadn't exactly been tempting enough for whatever he had in mind for them. He couldn't imagine he had much more to offer him and he really had no idea what had been taken from his parents that they would want back.

Snow motioned for Lillian to step forward and she did without hesitation, finally looking up at the two boys. Jay sucked in a breath, he would know her eyes anywhere, they were the eyes of the seam and he had seen them in a paintings of his dads. They were all too familiar to him without having hardly seen them himself.

" You recognize bits of her don't you? Well she should be a tiny bit familiar though I am afraid she looks more like my granddaughter then she does her father. You see I didn't really have Gale Hawthorne killed all those years ago and I didn't have anyone from the Mellark family killed in the bombing of district twelve. All of them have been kept safe here in my mansion, waiting for the day they could go home. Gale and my granddaughter met and well you can see the end result with Lillian Rose Hawthorne. My granddaughter has since passed and I want to return my great-granddaughter and her father to his true home as well as I'd love to be able to reunite your father with his parents and brothers on top of finally allowing you to meet your other half of family." Snow explained as he took Lillian's hand and gave her a small smile which she returned, a truly tender moment.

Jay was pale and his face had grown into a hard, expressionless mask. " What is it you want us to do in return for you grandfather?" He choked out between clenched teeth eventually. He had the feeling that with such a wonderful prize, a high price was going to have to be paid.

" It's really simple and I'll even throw in a little bonus for you two boys specifically to sweeten the deal a little bit more. You'll both receive double the regular tribute pay, houses here in the capitol for you to be able to stay in whenever you would wish to, one of you will have the privilege of marrying my lovely great-granddaughter since I know you have both taken a liking to her and the other will his choice of any lady in all twelve districts and the capitol." Snow told them with a large grin, they were getting closer to knowing why they had been summoned and they could both feel it.

" What is it you want us to do?" Jay repeated, he was the only one of the two able to speak, Echo was still in shock from Snow's original offer.

" It's really quite simple. I want you two boys to work together and kill Beata while in the arena." Snow sneered, leaving them both to stare at him with wide, horrified eyes. He was promising them paradise and everything that would make their family and their lives better, but all they had to was go against everything they ever believed in, stood for, for what their parents had risked their lives for and commit and actual murder in the games.


	8. Chapter 8 : Haunting

Chapter 8 – Haunting

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><p>Just as Snow had promised, when they were returned to the training center there were no other tributes and doctors waiting to see to their injuries. The one who examined Jay confirmed what her already knew, his nose was broken. The doctors straightened out his nose, applied some kind of salve to it to help the swelling, bruising and pain before placing a clear plastic mask over his face to keep his nose in place. Echo had a most likely crack in his knuckle to the doctors put his hand in a temporary cast and were going to take a better look at it after his training. Neither of the boys was too amused with their injuries, but didn't say anything since they were still in shock and didn't want to make a big deal over their mistakes.<p>

The two of them hadn't just said nothing to the doctors but also hadn't spoken to each other. The offers from Snow weighed heavily on both their minds still, especially since they had already started to lie about it to their prying fathers. Snow had dismissed them shortly after making them his offers and telling them he'd be in contact with them soon enough to know the answer, but he was sure they were going to make the right decision. He had seemed so sure of himself and Echo seemed certain that Snow was going to get his way, neither of them had the will to say no to him, especially when so much was on the line.

Echo could easily pass up the offer if it was just for him, he and his family had been doing just fine on their own without the help of Snow, but he also had to think about Jay and his family. He didn't know what it would mean to Jay and his family to have Snow's offers come true, but he knew what it would mean to his if it was his family in the same position and he didn't want to take that away from the Mellark's.

" You're thinking about what Snow said aren't you?" Jay asked softly. Once more they were at the archery range. Neither of them really felt like learning a new skill and most of the teachers had left.

Echo was silent for a moment and took his shot, getting it dead center. " I possibly might be." He muttered no emotion in his voice. He took a quick look around the area to make sure no one was listening to them, but everyone else seemed to be too bored to even look at them.

" Good to know I'm not the only one then. I feel like I'm going insane here and Snow has to be taking pleasure in it." Jay growled as he leaned against the rail separating the tributes from the targets.

Echo sighed and set the bow down, not in the mood anymore to shoot, he just wanted to go to his room to think it over, but this was their only chance to talk together about the offer since Beata would no doubt be training with them again. " Snow did say we were going to be fools to turn it down and he was right. He was also right in saying we needed to keep this quiet, my parents will kill me for even saying I considered it and really will murder me in cold blood if I agree to Snow's terms." Echo whispered whiles his eyes still on his arrows still in the target. They had been all over the place, but his last had somehow managed to get in the center.

" You mean don't tell a soul, sign the contract, wait to kill her until final five, but keep her as an alliance and do whatever necessary to make everyone think we're working with her clause in that lovely paper he had us read over to see that it was legit?" Jay asked with a hint of annoyance to his voice.

" Yeah that's what I meant. My parents wouldn't consider a victory that way as honorable, but rather just plain murder. To know that I'll go into the arena and be able to make it back out alive would be a huge relief, but it'll always haunt me if either one of us has to give the final blow." Echo explained.

" There's a way around that, I've been thinking about it. I've been thinking of it ever since Snow told us he wanted us to wait and not kill her off right away." Jay told Echo, sounding a bit angry and ashamed of the fact.

" Oh yeah? What's that, we set a trap? Have her step on another's trap and leave her to die? Trip her into a pit or a body of water? Leave her alone one night and never return?" Echo asked with an edge of disgust. He'd been thinking about it too obviously, but he didn't want to admit he'd put any thought in what Snow had asked them to do.

" It's simple, a trap of sorts actually. We leave her unprotected and wait for another tribute to take care of it, secretly align with another tribute and convince him or her to kill Beata or even we trick her into eating something poisonous. I'm thinking we pick berries, a couple that are alright and some that are poison, we eat the good ones and give her the poison berries." Jay whispered, he really had put quite a bit of thought into how to take care of Beata.

Echo was silent and closed his eyes. " So you think we should trick her like your parents tricked that district five girl and the capitol?" The words sounded hollow and disbelieving.

Jay didn't say anything and just nodded. Echo pinched the bridge of his nose, he really didn't like it, but didn't have much of an option. " It's not exactly the same thing, but the same idea in essence. If she doesn't notice the berries aren't safe, it's not our fault if she dies. We'll try and help her to keep suspicion away, but honestly I get the feeling that Snow's going to kill her one way or another and if we don't accept the offer, he'll offer another tribute something and we'll be targets. My belief is that this grandfather act only lasts so long as we have something to offer him or do what he wants." Jay told him, speaking the truth that Echo hadn't wanted to acknowledge.

" So that's it then I guess. We work hard to get her to the final five and let nature take its course. If she somehow survives it or we decide we can't do it, we can pretend to break up our alliance and then go after her once we've taken care of our other competitors." Echo said without hesitation, holding out his hand for Jay to shake in agreement.

Jay shook his hand before getting their bows and arrows, putting them away. " Alright then, that settles that. We're both in agreement then that we have to do this together or not at all?"

" Agreed. We don't tell anyone else either; this is just between you, Snow and I." Echo clarified as he straightened up. He had the feeling the two boys were done training for the day.

Jay nodded and without another word left Echo to go to the elevator. It was time to return to their quarters and for them to really think about what they were about to do. It hung heavily on Jay's conscious and his heart ached to think he was about to kill someone who was completely innocent and had no right to be in the games to begin with. In all honesty, if it hadn't been for the offer for Echo's family and that his own family was already on thin ice with Snow, he would have refused the offer right away.

Echo hadn't followed Jay to the elevators right away so Jay was able to ride up to his district quarters alone. He leaned back against the elevator wall and tried not to think about it too much. He felt like such an evil person for having just plotted the death of one of his allies. Sure he had time to figure out a way with Echo to get what they wanted and not have to kill her himself.

" It's about time! You and I need to talk." Beata's voice hissed as the doors opened. Before Jay could do anything, she grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him out of the elevator and towards the roof door. He could hear his parents talking in hushed tones with all the other mentors and his escort and stylist so he figured there was no use in trying to fight Beata.

He closed the door softly behind them as she started to pace in angry, jerky motions. " You're going to tell me what happened in your games." She demanded.

Jay looked at her a bit confused. " This again? Listen I told you, just watch the footage." He told her with an annoyed huff.

" No, that's not what I meant. Tell me about why they don't show what happened to your twelfth female tribute at the end and suddenly you're crowned victor." She hissed, the color instantly fading from Jay's face.

" You want to know about Abigail?" He whispered, suddenly feeling dizzy as she just nodded her head. " I killed her."

" I get that much, but I want to know why they had to cut out her death." She pressed.

He moved to the edge of the railing and looked down at the city again. " That's a long story and once again, not a pretty one. You'll hate me if you know the truth so speak now or forever hold your peace." He told her, giving her a moment to object before he took a deep breath, getting himself ready to tell her the truth. " I loved her. I'd loved her ever since I was six years old and we were both chosen for the games…" He began in a low voice, trying to hide any emotions left over from Abigail's death.


	9. Chapter 9 : The Past Never Dies

Chapter 9 – The Past Never Dies

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><p><em>Jay's heart was racing, the Gamemakers had sent tracker jackets after him and Abigail and they had yet to end their pursuit of him. He'd gotten the attention of the tracker jackets in enough time for them to lock onto him and for Abigail to get away. His mind wasn't even on the deadly bees that were trying desperately to sting him through the thick fur of the bear he had wrapped around him. He knew he was running out of luck and time, he knew the girl from one was still after them and wanted to kill Abigail more than anything. Jay had sworn to Abigail he was going to keep her safe and that was what he intended to do.<em>

_He tripped over the hide of the bear, but luckily he landed in cool water. He was able to get in one last breath of air before he just lay in the shallow pond, trying to keep his heart rate down and from panicking so he wouldn't have the urge to breath. He had received a few stings, nothing too major however and he would survive. They had promised the last two tributes that they could live and it was either going to be both district twelve tributes or the girl from one and one from twelve. The only catch they'd said was that the final two couldn't be dying or else the new rule was void. Thus far he'd managed to keep himself and Abigail healthy and a few tracker jacket stings weren't going to slow him down._

_He stayed in the water for a little while longer, it was a breeze for him to be able to hold his breath for longer than most people thanks to his mom teaching him to swim and his grandfather Snow having a couple of experts help get him ready for the games. He was cautious as he sat up out of the water and abandoned his fur shield, it had felt like it was a safe time but one could never be too safe in the arena. The bees were long gone and he needed to get back to Abigail as quickly as possible, he'd sworn he'd keep her safe and see her to the end. If Jay was anything, he was a man of his word, his parents had always taught him to stay true to his word. He could still hear his best friend's words ringing in his ears as he checked to make sure his weapons were still strapped to him._

" _Look after Abigail please, I'm begging you. I love her Jay, I need her to survive. I just ask that you help her as much as you can." Jett pleaded as he literally got down on his hands and knees in a begging gesture. At the time it had meant that Jay couldn't come back if Abigail had so Jay had been a little ticked with his best friend would choose some girl over him. That however had been before Jay had learned of his and Abigail's not so little secret..._

_Jay couldn't even speak, but just nodded. He knew Jett had loved Abigail for as long as Jay had, everyone knew about it except poor Abigail. Jett had been the first of either of the two to actually talk to Abigail and had gotten her to start playing with them when they had just been little kids. At the time is seemed innocent enough, but as time drew on it only got kept competing with Jett for Abigail's attention, but Jett always seemed to come out on top and Jay kept his true feelings hidden. Jett proposed to Abigail and the two were set to get married the day after she turned eighteen, without even knowing Jay had any feelings for her._

_Jay had acted happy for them and was happy that the two had found love, but he just wished that Abigail could have been with him. When the new rule about had been announced, the last two who weren't dying could win regardless of genders or districts, it had been the best news Jay had ever heard. He'd been with Abigail since shortly after the cornucopia so he'd done his best to keep her safe already, but the new rule made him even more protective of her. He had killed ten tributes, nine of them in protection of her, one was for his own revenge and Abigail hadn't killed anyone yet. He was now glad he hadn't aligned with anyone and even with Abigail by his side, it still wasn't like he was aligned with anyone in all reality._

_Jay stumbled a bit as he walked, he'd received a sting behind his left ear, one behind his left knee and one on his right shoulder. He felt dizzy and sick to his stomach and just kept stumbling forward, he needed to find Abigail and get her to treat the stings for him so he could continue to protect her. She'd have to dog the stingers out, chew up some of the leaves from the plant he'd found the other day and rub them on the stings, simple enough and it was the least she could do for all his struggling. Struggling to get her up the tress fast enough, hide her presence from the stronger tributes, get her armed, suck the poison out of her, smile every time she gushed about her wedding, not vomit when Jett went on and one about how beautiful she was and keep her no so little secret._

_He cursed as he tripped over something and landed face first in some mud. He groaned and rolled over, not exactly a smart move, but it was better than breathing in mud. He was at least grateful that he hadn't wondered into a different climate at least and was still in the forest quarter of the arena. Looking up to his left he was able to see the cornucopia and he'd tripped over what he guessed was the tail. He hadn't realized he'd been going to the wrong direction and was nowhere near where Abigail was. The moon was high overhead, the sky clear so all the stars were visible. Back home he would have enjoyed it, but here in the cornucopia it was as if the capitol were mocking him._

_He'd been a good little boy, he wasn't like Echo and tried to resist the inevitable. Echo fought Snow every chance he'd gotten, Jay had heard all the stories of the temper-tantrums. Echo was only a year older then Jay, but already had caused quite a stir in the capitol and in all the districts, he was still trying to reverse time and take everything back to the rebellion. Echo didn't know a lost cause even when it was right in front of him, jumping up and down screaming 'Surrender! Surrender! For the love of God, surrender already!', Echo was a moron. Jay had known the consequences of going against Snow, he was the product of it and he was playing Snow's game the safe way. The smart way._

" _Jay! Jaaaay!" A familiar sing-song voice called out making Jay roll his eyes._

_If she was so in love with his best friend, why did she rely on him so much or call his name in such a sweet, tempting way? " Over here." He choked out with a small cough. His body ached all over and the world was starting to shimmer as the venom started to take its toll on him. He wasn't even sure if Abigail's voice was in his head or reality, but to be completely truthful, he didn't care._

" _Oh my God, Jay are you OK?" Abigail's voice gushed as she knelt beside him and he looked towards her. She looked like an angel in the pale moonlight. Seeing her long blonde hair lightly billowing around her in the light wind, the moonlight casting a halo if light around the top of her head, her skin looked fragile, it all just reminded him of the paintings of angels in his father's office._

_He smiled a little as she dug through her pack, feeling himself start to drift. He reached up to caress her cheek, stopping her. " You've always been my girl Abbey, you've just never known it…" He whispered as he closed his eyes, the last image in his mind her beautiful green eyes._

_Abigail's piercing cry caused Jay to sit straight up. His head was spinning as dark spots clouded his vision and he tried to shake it off without must success. He grabbed one of the buck knives from his waist band and jumped up to his feet, wobbling a bit as he tried to look around for Abigail._

" _Jay!" Abigail screamed again, her voice pleading and frightened. It was coming from the trees across from him._

_He hadn't ventured anywhere except into the trees that were behind him because the cornucopia had four climates and landscapes. There was a forest like the one surrounding district twelve, a tropical one such as four might be used to, desert and some freezing, snowy landscape and the only one he'd felt was safest was the one behind him. He could see Abigail's belongings scattered all around him, had the girl from one gotten her without his knowledge while he'd been passed out?_

_He wasn't willing to take any chances with Abigail's life and rushed towards the source of the screams. He kept stumbling over himself and it was a struggle to get to trees, but he was able to use them to keep himself upright. He kept tripping over himself and foliage, the screaming seeming to come from all around him. Abigail was screaming his name, begging for his help and pleading for mercy and he was helpless._

_He slashed at anything that was moving around him. His head was spinning and he felt sick to his stomach. He felt like he was going to pass out as he spun around and around, eyes trying to see into the thick, foggy foliage. He could barely see too feet in front of him and each sound seemed to be tainting him. He could still hear the screaming pleads of Abigail and he wasn't any closer to her it seemed. The screams were coming from all around him, driving him insane._

" _Make it stop!" Jay cried out as he threw his knife in a random direction. He wasn't worried about the knife, he had plenty more on him so losing one knife was no big deal. Well it wasn't until he heard a sickening squish._

" _J-Jay." Abigail gasped from the direction he'd carelessly thrown the knife._

_He felt the color fade from his face as he slowly turned to face it and he saw Abigail drop to her knees just inside a beautiful clearing, her hands holding her stomach protectively. " Abby!" He cried out as he forced his way through the thick plants and to her, dropping down to his knees, catching her as she fell back._

" _Didn't you hear the cannon?" She struggled to whisper as she looked up at him with wide, sad eyes._

" _N-no. I could hear you screaming." He whispered, tears coming to his eyes as he realized they'd been set up. The Gamemaker's would have turned off the birds and made a big announcement and that would have been all she wrote, but they hadn't._

" _We won Jay, we won." She choked out with a small smile._

_Did she not realize what was happening to her? Jay put on his best smile and fought back tears that were threatening to come to his eyes. They couldn't win because she was dying. " That we did Abbey. Did you kill the girl from one?" He asked softly as he caressed her face as he thought he had in his tracker jacket delusions. This was probably the last time he'd ever do it._

" _Yes I did Jay. I pushed her in a lake and watched her drown." Her voice grew softer as she spoke and her eyes started to shut. " I did it for us Jay. It's always been you I loved." She seemed to force out, her breathing growing shallower and more labored._

_That did it for Jay and the tears started to slowly slide down his face. He was going to have a lot to answer for when he returned home to twelve, but that seemed so far in the future in that moment as time seemed to stop. " I always have loved you Abbey, but you and Jett are going to have a perfect baby in a few months' time and are going to live happily ever after, just like you always dreamed of." Jay choked out, trying to sound honest and brave as he leaned down to kiss her lips lightly._

" _A little boy named Jay…." Those were the last words Abigail ever uttered as her breath and heart stopped and the cannon boomed in the distance._

" _Ladies and gentleman, I give you the winner of the ninety-first Hunger Games, Jay Mellark of district twelve!" Claudis' voice booms in an even more taunting way as Jay just held Abigail's body crying._

* * *

><p>Jay gripped the railing and closed her eyes as the old rush of emotions start up again. " Jett told me it wasn't my fault, but I know he still blames me." He whispered, his voice cracking a bit.<p>

Beata had stood by his side, showing no emotion and keeping silent. " That was how long ago?" She asked, trying to sound confident even though that's not what she was feeling.

It took him a moment to do the math before starting to slowly release his grip on the railing. " It's been four years, I need to go into that arena without the memory of Abigail because they can still use it against me." With that Jay ended their conversation and went to his room for the night.

The avox boy was in the room to help him and he just instructed the boy to get him a bottle of wine or whatever liquor he could find for him. The boy left in a hurry, leaving Jay to dig through his jacket, looking for his tribute token. There in his hand was a small painting of Abigail his father had painted for him upon his return to twelve.

He clutched the picture closer to him as he tried to catch his breath which wouldn't come to him. He choked and gasped, waiting impatiently for the avox to come back with his drink so he could forget about Abigail. The avox however never returned, but his mother got on the ground beside him and pulled him against her.

" It's alright Jay, you loved her. This is what the capitol does to a person with the games. This is what your father and I fought against and we hope you can one day change." She whispered soothingly as she rested her chin on the top of his head, just like she had when he'd been younger.

" I killed Abigail mom, the capitol didn't throw that knife into her stomach. The capitol didn't murder a poor girl and her unborn child." He whispered, feeling numb in his mother's arms. The last time she had held him like that was in the hovercraft, taking him away from the arena.

" It's not like that Jay… It's not like that at all." Katniss assured him as she started to rock him and Jay closed his eyes, drifting to sleep in his mom's arms for the first time in four years.

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><p><em><strong>Seriously I would LOVE a review at this point, just throwing that out there...<strong>_

_**Also to kinda help, here's some visual's of what I picture for Beata, Jay and Echo:**_

_**.com/albums/z108/blue_ice_21/RP%20Pictures/acegoddess_by_**_

_**.com/albums/z108/blue_ice_21/RP%20Pictures/ace_goddess_characters_by_**_


	10. Chapter 10 : New Plots at Hand

Chapter 10 – New Plots at Hand

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><p>The training they had done seemed not to matter to Echo when he sat impatiently, waiting to go in for his private session time with the Gamemakers. His conscious started to get the best of him during his short time, locked up in the room with Beata and Jay. He'd done his best to avoid eye contact with her and didn't speak with her to even thank her when she wished him luck, but it was beginning to eat at him because he was like his father and cared about people in genuine. He was sure that Jay would feel the same if he were able to truly attach himself to human beings or the emotional connection that came with it, but after his first time in the games he had changed a lot. Echo really worried about Jay in the games, but he kept it to himself and just worked his best to perfect as many skills as he possibly could in their limited time.<p>

He was anxious as he went into his one on one time with the Gamemakers, guessing he didn't have much to show them that would excel, but he didn't care what score he got personally, no matter what he was going to be a target. His dad was still a legend in the games and his mom was pitied so he was either going to be seen as super strong like his dad or incredibly weak like his mom. He just needed to show the Gamemakers that he was his own person at least and hope the other tributes would either underestimate or way over estimate him.

He had done a combination of things, tied knots, shot arrows, camouflaged himself, threw knives and identified plants, nothing too bit, or so he thought. The Gamemaker's had watched him curiously, only a few hadn't been watching him closely. He was from a career tribute district so they were expecting good things from him and they also recognized him, whispering his name and talking about his parents. He had gotten bored since the Gamemaker's had kept him for what had seemed like an hour before finally letting him return to his district quarters.

He'd sat down with everyone from district four, their stylists and their escort. His female counterpart got a solid eight, round of applause went up for her in the room, but everyone froze as they showed his score. His jaw dropped and his father's grip tightened on his shoulder a little bit, confirming his fear that the number flashing by his picture was in fact the real deal. His mom had to leave the room, it looked like she was fighting back tears and it was just making it harder on Echo to swallow the truth.

Twelve. Echo had received a twelve. Eco Odair had scored a twelve during his private session with the Gamemakers. Echo Odair, son of the heartbreaker Finnick Odair and scatterbrained and insane Annie Cresta, two previous champions, already had made him look liked a he had a target on his back, no they went and painted it in large, fluorescent, glow in the dark lettering. Everyone was silent and said nothing, didn't dare move an inch either as the capitol continued showing the scores, the useless commentators commenting here and there about surprising and not surprising facts, but another shock came when they got to district twelve and T.A.R.D.I.S Beata and Jay also received twelve's. The commentators had a field day with the only three twelve's going to the wildcard and legends of the games and it had haunted Echo as he forced himself from the room and to his bed.

The three of them now had giant targets on their backs, just what Snow would want if Jay and Echo turned down his offers. Snow had already gotten Echo and Jay exactly where he wanted them, but this seemed to be a bit of insurance. He must have known the boys were hesitant when they left and they hadn't been able to get word to him yet about their agreement and time was running out. Echo knew that Jay had to be thinking the same thing despite all the congratulations they were receiving from their teams. The only ones who might have known something was up would be Katniss, Peeta, Finnick and Annie, but they were all oblivious to the fights of their sons. If they had known it would have only ended badly, that much the two boys knew and were thankful for.

Echo had nightmares about Snow and they terrified him. He had spent half the night awake, just staring at his wall. He could hear his parents in the room beside his, arguing about the games and Echo. His mother was hysterical, his father positive, but his mother had already figured out that something was terribly wrong. He buried his face in his pillow, screaming into to try and let out some of his frustration. Snow had already started to throw him into a personal hell and he just wanted to let Snow know that he had won, he didn't need to keep rubbing his face in whatever it was that he was plotting…

Echo managed to keep his mind off of Snow's possible plot for the training he had to endure for his interview when he'd been dragged out of his bed by his escort Azabeth. His stylists were helping his mentors with getting an angle for him, talking about all the gossip that circulated about him and what had been done in the past, just praying that something stuck to him. Echo felt sorry for them as even his patient father was growing tenser and more agitated with every new angle.

There were seven mentors from four, so he had four helping him with his interview while the others helped out ' the idiot' with her outfit and how to act when on and off stage. He had yet to refer to his female counterpart by anything other than ' idiot' because that was exactly as he saw her. His parents were the oldest mentors and therefor their words carried more weight than anything else, so they had been split up as well. His mom worked with how to act on and off stage while his dad went over key things for the actual interview with Caesar Flickerman. Azabeth kept bouncing back and forth between the two groups, not really sure what to do since things were pretty well all taken care of for the two tributes.

" Did you hear me?" Finnick asked in a slightly annoyed voice, snapping his fingers just inches from Echo's face. Finnick had be trying to talk to him, but Echo seemed to be dazed and off in his own little world. Normally it was no big deal except for the fact that it was literally a life or death situation on their hands.

Echo jumped a bit with his father's snap and tried to shake his head clear. " No, sorry my mind was elsewhere." He admitted as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair. He was lounging on the couch in the sitting room with the TV. The sound had been turned off and they were just showing recaps of the tributes grand entrance, the training scores and were talking of rumors and betting. They were predicting it to be games no one could forget and they hadn't even gotten to the interviews yet.

Finnick let out a small sigh and shook her head. " Echo what are we going to do with you?" He asked, sounding frustrated and he closed his eyes.

" Just let me be me?" Echo suggested sarcastically. It wasn't such a smart idea to let Echo just be himself in front of a camera, he'd already proven that time and time again during his times in the capitol.

" Everyone out, he can't concentrate with us all barking at him at one time. I'm going to work with him myself, Cotia you might be able to help too so please don't go yet." Finnick groaned and the others left the room except for his top stylist, Cotia. No one but Cotia and Echo seemed happy with the decision, but it didn't particularly matter. " Echo this is vital. We can only help you to a limit and that limit is going to be very small if you can't win over more sponsors. You need people to bet on you and at this point the only things you have going for you is your fame and your training score. If they're willing to bet on you, they're willing to hand over the money to get you whatever you may need in case of an emergency and trust me, you don't want to be caught without their help."

Echo didn't like to admit it, but his father was right. He really had nothing going for him in all actuality and it was just going to be the death of him in the end. He knew Snow had promised to do whatever necessary to keep them alive, but he couldn't just rely on Snow or else it would be too suspicious. He wasn't strong, bold, charming and mysterious, there was just nothing to him other than what met the eye and even that wasn't enough to do him any good. " I've got nothing here dad. Honestly the only thing I think of is to follow your example. Flatter the woman and make them think I'm all theirs, that kind of thing." He admitted as he shook his head, a little ashamed on his inability to be creative.

Finnick was silent for a moment, seeming to be deep in thought. It was Cotia who spoke up in her soft, sing-song voice that was thick with the capitol accent, suddenly looking really excited, literally bouncing up and down in her seat. " That could work. Dress you up in a simple black shirt that buttons up, a crown of shells and simple black slacks. We'll make you look simple, yet sinfully delicious to the woman. It might not even hurt for you to have a female tribute to flirt with on the side of the stage. I mean once you feel comfortable in your clothes and standing in front of the crowd, it'll just come naturally. I wouldn't suggest flirting with anyone from districts above your own though, that's too obvious and will ruin your simple, sexy look." She said, snatching up her sketch pad and starting to doodle a design.

" That would work actually. Katniss and Peeta were going to try and convince Jay to flirt a bit with Beata, but he had a break down over Abigail." Finnick said thoughtfully, tapping his fingers against his chin thoughtfully. " We already knew you and Jay were going to be presented as a united front, a force to reckon with, but if we toss Beata into the mix with you Echo, it could help us even more. Her being from a previously unknown district, it will make it so much better for the people to buy it and make it more tragic."

" Exactly! Oh how lovely it would be! Jay trying to get over the deaths of his best friend and the girl he loved, but what's this? His accomplish in the games, a boy he has referred to as his brother on many occasions or at the least a cousin, is willing to risk the games to pair up with a girl he knows he can't ever have. Even if the Gamemakers throw in a twist like with Katniss and Peeta, you two could never be together because you're from different districts. Oh it would be so much sweeter then Katniss and Peeta's years! Hardly anything beats star-crossed lovers, secret marriages and an unexpected pregnancy, but this will be unforgettable!" She gushed.

" I completely agree, it's time we shook things up around here again but only in a good way. There hasn't been much to surprise the audience since Katniss and Peeta, well aside from Jay's little Abigail incident. You'll have to do your best to keep Jay close to you and not let it come between the bond you two automatically seem to have. Beata will be a priority of yours for a couple of days if you go through with this, do you think you can work with this angle? Wait until at least the final three or four before doing anything drastic. By then your mom and I can make sure you're stocked up enough to survive if you lose a couple of sponsors." Finnick instructed, giving Echo a look that he could have sworn went all the way down to his soul.

Echo was silent as he just sat there, weighing the pros and cons of going along with his dad's idea. He knew it might tick off Snow, but if he could get Beata at least to the final three it would make her death that much sweeter in Snow's mind and wouldn't cause any retaliation for the death of Beata. " Yes, I think I can do that." He agreed without a second thought. Snow would still get his way, but this way Echo and Jay could at least be set just in case since they couldn't completely trust Snow.

" Good, then let's get started here." He told Echo with a big grin. He jumped right in on how to flirt with his eyes and how to lead the conversation back to Beata or himself. It turned out that once they had an angle, Echo was a natural and a smooth talker, just like his dad.

Echo felt like his very soul was starting to darken as he ate it all up and practiced on Cotia. He tried so hard not to let it show that he was uncomfortable, if he was going to kill Beata, he needed to be sure of himself with no thoughts of fear or hesitation. He needed to make Beata believe she was safe with him and that he liked her, that way she would trust him and her death wouldn't be anticipated. The only thing he could see going wrong was if Jay didn't catch on and royally screwed them over by letting it slip that Echo didn't really have feelings for her…


	11. Chapter 11: Could Rebellion Spark Again?

Chapter 11 – Could Rebellion Spark Again?

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><p>The interviews were by far the most tedious thing in Jay's opinion. He and Beata had worked together on all the things having to do with their interview. Jay had already mentored a few tributes on it and was a bit of a pro by that point, but Beata had never done an interview in her life. Jay had put a bit of a damper in his parents plans when he'd broken down over Abigail, something he hadn't done in a really long time. He hadn't broken down about her since the year after her death, when Jett had rushed into the games and gotten himself killed. That was the night that Jay had vowed never to cry about her since she would be happily reunited with Jett, but that hadn't been in the plans apparently.<p>

His mom had held him for a while before his dad came in and gave him a couple bottles of some strong alcohol. His mom hadn't protested as he drained the bottle and threw a fit. He yelled and threw the one bottle against the wall and opened another one up right after it. He cried out for Abigail in his drunken state and eventually passed out on the bed, his parents cleaning up the mess and getting him into bed. They had acted like nothing had happened, everyone's eyes stayed down and he didn't mind, he felt ashamed of himself for freaking out.

His stylist had even been kind enough to instruct her crew not to say anything about his tantrum while they'd worked on gussying him up for his interview with Caesar Flickerman. He was dressed up in a pinstripe suit, class black shows that shined and he looked classical almost. They had spiked his hair up on the top of his head into one giant glob it seemed, but it looked actually pretty good on him. He didn't smile though, that was his thing for the evening, he wasn't to smile or crack a joke once. Despite how nicely dressed he was, he was dressed up in black and white stripes, he looked like he was going to a funeral rather than a party. Tonight he wasn't the flirtatious Jay who tried to forget he had ever fallen in a love and just wanted to drown his misery. No, tonight he was Jay Mellark, the unfortunate child of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, child of a rebellion, Hunger Games champion and a boy who had lost the love of his life when he was only twelve years old. There was nothing happy about him.

His stylist Belladonna had been very disappointed in the fact that she hadn't been able to really make him look glamorous and sexy like she had at the opening ceremonies or even when she'd dressed him up the last time he'd been in games. She had agreed though that it was necessary for him to seem somber and mournful and had done a fabulous job of it. She had sniffled a bit when she'd helped get him into it an excused her assistants to do the final touches herself.

" Abigail was a beautiful girl and she had a lot of promise." Belladonna whispered after a few minutes of fixing a couple of last second things.

Jay was silent for a moment, his eyes staring blankly at the wall. " Yeah, she was an angel. I used to say that she was Gods favorite angel, sent here to earth so he could have something to smile upon since we messed his world up too badly." He told her, trying to keep his tone light and even.

" She would have laughed and told you she was no such thing. She only spoke highly of you, no one else seemed to matter and that included herself. I sat and talked with her a lot during her short time here, she had an eye for fashion. She was the one who designed your interview and victor outfits, not me." She told him with a small laugh, unable to look him in the eyes.

Jay was a bit surprised and had to fight to keep a lump from forming in his throat. He couldn't help but wonder if she had known from the beginning that she wasn't going to make it out alive. " Sounds like something she'd do. Make sure that everyone else was seen to before she took care of herself." He choked out.

" She did think of herself a tiny bit during her time here, that might surprise you a bit. She designed matching outfits for herself in hopes that the two of you could make it out alive together and make a beautiful pair. She had the same idea as my father did, she was as much a dreamer as he'd been." She sighed as she stood back to examine Jay's outfit. There was a longing look in her eyes, like there was something he was missing that she wanted badly.

" And what was that if you don't mind me asking?" Jay asked, standing as straight and tall as he could so she could get the full look of him. He had never really talked so personally with Belladonna and was finding she wasn't as dense as he'd assumed she'd been.

" My father had this saying. ' It doesn't take a mob of angry citizens to start a rebellion, it just takes the right outfit to spark an emotion.' She said my father was a wise man and knew exactly what he was talking about." She told him, sounding as if she were forcing herself to sound bored as she slowly walked around him, satisfied with the way the outfit looked on him.

It sounded about right to Jay. His parents may have accidentally started a rebellion when they fell in love during the games, but it had taken his mother's ' girl on fire' dresses, mockingjay wedding dress and even her mockingjay rebellion costumes to really move people. It was amazing what a piece of cloth could stir in someone. He had never asked about her family or anything about her personal life despite all the time that they spent together. " Your father sounds like he knew the trust even when the rest of us have been blind." He commented as he fidgeted a bit with the cuffs on his jacket.

" Yes he did know exactly what he was doing. Nothing surprised him it seemed." She told him as she turned from him and grabbed a little black bag from his bed where she had set up all her supplies. She held it out for him to take.

He was hesitant as he took the bag, unsure of what surprises might await him within it. It was an innocent enough bag, soft and smaller than the palm of his hand. He shook out the bags contents and paled as a gold band landed in the palm of his hand. He knew the ring very well, it had the words ' Till the day I die' etched into it. The ring wasn't perfectly round and the lettering had obviously been done by an untrained hand, but it was beautifully done. The one who had made it had spent hours trying to perfect it but had learned at the end that perfection wasn't necessary because it made it one of a kind, just like the girl it was intended for.

" Jett gave this to Abigail. This was Abigail's engagement ring, he'd given it to her on his thirteenth birthday. He was older then Abigail and I, this was the first serious thing he'd ever made." Jay whispered as he turned the ring over in his fingers. He hadn't seen it since Abigail had died and it amazed him that Belladonna would have it. Jett had made it himself, his dad and older brother had had a jewelry shop once and Jett had wanted Abigail to have something original and unique so he'd made the ring all by himself.

" Yes, that's Abigail's ring. She had thrown it away during her games, the night she found you after you had been stung. She'd thrown it carelessly into the woods but Gamemakers had recovered it, but by the time they'd gotten it Abigail had already been sent to twelve and there was a fight over who should get it, her family or Jett. It had been given to Snow after much argument from myself and the Gamemaker's and Snow's now decided to give it to you. He's made special arrangements for you to be able to wear it into the games as well as carry her picture with you. He thinks it will help you and your grandfather is really rooting for you to win." She whispered as she took the ring and slipped in onto his left ring finger. " According to science or legend, I forget which, the ring finger on your left hand had a vein that's directly connected to the heart. This is the closest spot to your heart as far as I'm concerned and it helps with your interview tonight. The boy who mourns his lost lover."

Jay couldn't speak as he stared down at the ring on his finger. He hadn't known about the finger and heart connection, but he agreed with her. If it was directly connected to his heart, it was as close as he could get Abigail because she still was the only girl he had ever loved or ever would. He didn't understand why Snow would pull the necessary strings for him to take two tokens into the games, but he wasn't about to argue. However that brought another question to his mind.

" Did my grandfather have any other instructions for me as far as the ring was concerned?" He whispered, wondering if this was his way of contacting him for his answer.

She gave him a confused look for a second before nodding. " He says you're to wear it if you're agreeing, but he understands if it's too hard for you." She whispered hesitantly. " I told him I was sure you would wear it because you're strong and want more of Abigail there with you."

He felt a lump form in his throat, he'd been right. The only plus side was that Belladonna was obviously in the dark about the deal, but it didn't make it any easier that she'd been the messenger. She seemed to not be bothered by it though and it made him wonder what it was about her life that had made her so bold as to talk to him about rebellion and Snow's message. He couldn't help but think that it maybe stemmed from her father that had sparked their short talk of clothes and rebellion after all.

" I've never asked you this before, but who's your father? You've told me a bit about him in the past and you said you wanted to work with district twelve because he had done it as well, but you've never mentioned his name before." Jay pointed out as he swallowed the lump in his throat and looked up at her, having to force his attention away from the ring.

She smiled a bit, as if he'd just asked the funniest joke on the planet. " I've been waiting four years to tell you my little secret and this is when you decide to ask? The night before you go into those games? You are truly amazing Jay Mellark." She laughed as she shook her head and gave him an amused expression. It was obvious they had both seemed to move on from Snow's instructions and Abigail. " My father was Cinna, your mother's stylist, the one who flamed the rebellion because he saw a cause in your mothers eyes. He saw sparks of rebellion the second he saw Katniss, just as I see when I look at you."

Jay looked at her with wide eyes. He knew she couldn't have been implying what she was. " I'm not starting a rebellion Belladonna. I like you a lot and I enjoy our talks, but there is no way I'm following in my parents footsteps that much." He told her as he took a step back as if she had shocked him or her head had sprouted a dozen poisonous creatures.

She laughed more and gave him a wicked smile. " I'm not trying to start a rebellion Jay. You're just a baby bird, a mockingjay chick, I would never turn the nest over and dump you in the middle of a rebellion. Now come along little bird, your mentors are waiting for you as are the rest of Panem. This is your night to shine worry free, just remind them that you're a kid who has already faced the challenges within the games and lost the girl of your dreams. Show them you are strong and confident." She instructed him as she grabbed him by his shoulders, quickly ushering him out of the room and to the elevator where his mentors, Jaide, the Doctor and Beata were waiting.


	12. Chapter 12 : Interviews

Chapter 12 – Interviews

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><p>The interview had all the tributes buzzing with excitement and impatient to get going. The tributes were usually always in high spirits for the interview, it was something that was actually fun but that was all because of Ceasar Flickerman. The interviews went in order of districts and then it went girls first, followed by the boys. No one had to worry about saying anything wrong because Caesar was flawless in making the tributes look wonderful and put a nifty little spin on words to make it right. It was hard to tell how old Caesar was, but he always acted so energetic and he never seemed to change. He was one of the few reliable things about the capitol it seemed.<p>

Echo had to admit he was excited for it as well for his interview, his stylist had kept her word and he looked rather simple, yet dashing. His brown hair had been smoothed down but he hadn't ended up with a crown of shells, Snow had had another idea in mind. Instead of a crown of shells, he was wearing a crown of lilies and white roses on his head. His shirt clung to him a bit and he'd left the top two buttons undone to look more laidback. He'd spent all morning watching his dad look at his mom so he even had a dreamy gaze down to an art so he could give it to Beata whenever he wanted. He really had a good feeling about his interview. All that he was missing was Beata and then he would have a complete outfit.

Stepping out of the elevator, a few heads turned to look at him. He tried his best to ignore them and look for Beata or Jay, but he couldn't spot them from the elevator. His view was blocked by the girl from one after just a few moments of searching. She's in a shimmering blue dress that hugs to every curve and left very little to the imagination. He hair was in a mess and her makeup was dark and smoky, in a word, she looked desirable. Echo couldn't stop himself as he just gawked at her for a moment, realizing that Jay had been right about her during the opening ceremonies.

" Wow Echo Odair… Who'd have thought that you could clean up so nicely? You really are a handsome young fellow." She purred as she gave him an admiring, thoughtful look.

Echo smiled a bit and reached forward to push a piece of his stray piece of her hair behind her ear. " There are a great many things about me that might surprise you about me. For now though, if you'll excuse me, I need to find my brother Jay." He told her with a flirtatious smile. She seemed stunned as he pushed past her and went back to looking for Jay and Beata. He didn't care if he didn't find them until they were on stage, he just couldn't be caught with the girl from one.

He spotted Jay and Beata standing away from everyone talking in hushed tones. Beata looked dazzling Echo had to admit. Her dark hair was pulled back in her usual messy ponytail, but it was wavier than usual and her cerulean eyes had a special sparkle to them. She was in a stunning black, blue and grey dress that feathered out with heels and stockings that matched the dresses colors as well as every inch of exposed skin, which there was more than usual as well, was covered in glitter making her literally sparkle and shine with each breath. Echo couldn't help but compare her beauty to that of the ocean, the way the sun reflected off it, the ruffles like sea foam and the colors looked like the water before a storm. She didn't look like it was something she was comfortable in like the girl from one or even any of the other girls, but it just added to her appeal.

She looked just stunning, perfect in Echo's eyes, truly someone he could easily flirt with and her outfit would complement his wonderfully. By the looks they were already getting from those nearest them, it seemed there was some wonder as to if their stylists had worked together. Even her jewelry seemed like it was made for Echo, a black choke with a couple of freshwater pearls wove in, one large saltwater pearl hung down in the middle and she wore matching saltwater pearls dangling from her ears. If there ever was a girl who had the look of district four, it was Beata in that moment.

He smirked a bit and made his way over to them and shook hands with Jay. " Well Beata you look stunning might I say." Echo told Beata with a wink that made her blush a bit and roll her eyes. He could already tell that it was going to be an interesting night, especially when he turned to look at Jay. " Uh Jay, what's up with your outfit? I thought Belladonna liked you and was a bright and fluffy kind of girl?" He asked with a confused look as he took in Jay's somber outfit.

Jay shrugged a bit, he didn't even seem to care and seemed really distant. " It's in memory of Abigail. I'm mourning her passing this time around, my mentor's Belladonna and I agreed that I couldn't fake some other angle like last time, I just needed to be myself. There's going to be no fun from me on that stage tonight because right now Abigail's passing has been unbearable. I can't get her off my mind and she just keeps popping up in everything the last couple of days." Jay told Echo softly, dropping his gaze and clenching his fist. Jay still wasn't used to wearing the ring even though it had been about an hour, but it felt comforting to have it even though it was a sign of evil to come.

Echo was silent for a moment before stuffing his hands in his pants pockets awkwardly. He really had never been good with helping others when they were down and he was even more lost when it came to the loss of loved ones because he didn't have friends and it had always just been him and his parents. He really had no idea how Jay did as well as he did after having lost so much. " I'm still sorry, her death was a huge loss. She seemed like such a great girl, reminded my dad and I a lot of your mom too, she was definitely a fighter when she needed to be." He whispered, feeling strange talking about it.

Jay once more shrugged, he really was good at keeping his emotions under lock and key in front of the other tributes. " It's whatever, it's my burden to carry alone and that's what I intend to do." He grumbled, giving Beata a fierce look for a moment, making her look away. He let out a huge sigh and tried again to keep her from seeing that he was mad she'd brought back Abigail's memories. " What about you though? What's with the flowers?" He asked as he reached out to take Echo's flowery crown in his hands, wanting to change the subject before things got too deep for him and he lost his cool.

Echo wasn't sure how to answer, he didn't want to mention anything about Snow in front of Beata. His eyes widened a bit and he paled some. He quickly glanced at Beata and then back to Jay who just nodded. Jay understood what Echo had been trying to say, it was a sign for Snow. Jay opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't think of anything to say in front of Beata. He had a lot of questions for Jay and needed to tell him his own sign, but he didn't want to risk it yet.

Luckily at that moment an interview assistant called her over so Echo had a small window of time, knowing he needed to explain everything as quickly as possible. " It was a gift from Lillian and Snow. He told me to wear this crown to show that I'm agreeing to his deal and I want to marry Lillian." He told Jay quickly as he took the flowers back. " I'm supposed to give them to Beata along with a kiss at some point, I guess it's supposed to be like the kiss of death or something. I don't understand and think it's strange myself, but I'm not going to stop to question Snow. Did he contact you too or am I the only who's supposed to answer him?"

" No, Snow contacted me too. He gave me Abigail's engagement ring to wear tonight, I just hope he can see it since it's kind of small. The ring works since I'm playing the heartbroken boy act, or at least Belladonna thinks so, but how do the flowers and Beata work into your plan?" Jay asked curiously as he looked around them anxiously, making sure no one could overhear them. Beata was immersed in a conversation with the assistant but only God knew what they were talking about.

" I'm flirting with Beata. Playing the star crossed lover's card pretty much, that at least will explain the kiss and giving her the flowers from Lillian. Change of plans however Jay, we have to get her at least to the final four or three. If we don't, this act is going to come back to bite me in the rear big time and it's going to be bad news for the both of us sponsors wise. Whatever happens though, I'm still with you on getting her out of the games like Snow wants." Echo hissed as he fidgeted with the crown a bit before putting it back on his head just as Beata came over to them, looking relieved.

" So I'm not going to be doing the interview after all. Snow doesn't think it's appropriate and the Doctor explained to him that I ramble when I'm nervous." Beata told them with a small laugh.

Jay had opened his mouth to say something, looking completely stunned, but Echo was being called away to get into his place in line. He rolled his eyes and wished Jay luck for his interview before going to his spot by his female counterpart who was dressed in a gown that seemed to change into a different color every time she moved. In Echo's mind, he guessed she was supposed to be a pearl, but her stylist had failed as far as he was concerned.

Jay was stuck in the back of the line with Jaide who was dressed up in green with jade jewelry to kind of mock her name. Beata was behind him and she was silent, celebrating her miniature victory and small break. In all her time at the capitol, nothing had gone her way until the news of being spared. She had no idea what Snow had been thinking or how the Doctor had managed it, but she was starting to think that maybe her luck was turning around at last.

The tributes were led out on stage after a few minutes of being in line. The tributes all seemed to relax as they climbed on stage, the crowd going crazy and cheering for them. The cheers really went out of control when Echo stepped out on stage, catching him off guard. He couldn't help himself as he smiled, waved, winked and blew kisses to the crowd, already starting to win them over. It had seemed to come so easy to him to have fun with the audience, just like his father had during his time in the capitol. He took his seat with a he grin at the girl from four muttered something along the lines of ' sucker' under her breath, but he figured she was just jealous and wasn't letting it weigh down his spirits any.

Jay received just as many cheers, if not more, but he didn't acknowledge them which left the audience in a bit of a stunned silence, especially since he didn't seem to be showing any emotions. As the son of the easygoing Peeta Mellark, they had had higher expectations of him, as if they expected him to be like Echo, but all of those had been put to waste. They really had no idea how to react to him since he was a much loved visitor. Whatever confusion they felt towards Jay, they were ten times as lost with Beata. They quieted down completely as Beata emerged and they just seemed to watch her in confusion, as if she were a mutation and unwanted, not knowing why she was a tribute or allowed to take part in the annual tribute events.

Caesar Flickerman didn't waste a second and got right into the three minute interviews, not letting the crowds silence throw him off for a second. He joked with a couple of the tributes, flirted some and genuinely seemed to enjoy himself. He really was amazing at his job which was most likely why Snow had let him life so long without and trouble. Caesar got really excited when he was able to call Echo up to the stage with him.

Echo was greeted with the same enthusiasm as before and the timers even waited for his time to start once the crowd had quieted down from chanting his name and screaming their love for him. Caesar just laughed and smiled, cheering along with the people. Caesar seemed to have the same expectations of Echo that he'd had with his dad and it showed in his smile and the way he rubbed his hands together in a gesture that would have looked evil on anyone else.

" My goodness Echo, you've got quite a fan base already don't you, won't have to worry much about sponsors will you? Must be that Odair blood in you! Rumor has it that you've stolen a special heart, have anything to add to that?" Caesar joked as he patted Echo on the back in congratulations, jumping right into the personal questions and skipping the ones about what he liked or hoped for.

Echo shrugged a bit, a not so innocent look crossing his face and his smile could have been considered smug. " Well according to my wonderful grandfather Snow, I've won the heart of his great-granddaughter Lillian." He announced proudly. Caesar looked at him as if it were a strange thing and Echo realized he needed to clarify quickly before he lost them. " It's alright though because we're not actually related, he just took me under his wing when I was born and has been heavily involved in my life since learning of my mother's condition. Lillian's great though, beautiful, charming, sweet, innocent and just everything I could ever ask for really. She even sent me this lovely crown of flowers that she made herself, but I can think of one girl who would look dazzling in it." Echo joked back as he looked to Beata and winked flirtatiously.

Caesar hadn't missed the wink and looked in Beata's direction, a bit confused by Beata's obvious shock. Beata actually looked a bit scandalized which made Caesar wonder if he had intended the gesture for someone else. " Who is this lovely lady and why have these rumors not reached our hungry ears?" He asked eagerly as he turned his attention back to Echo.

" Well she's not from my district and a crazy event brought us together. You see, I think I might be falling for Beata. Now I know it's a bad thing, but as Katniss and Peeta as well as Abigail and Jay have shown that the games can't come between true loves. I have high hopes for these games if I'm completely honest." Echo told Caesar as he locked eyes with a still stunned Beata. Obviously she really didn't know what he was going to be playing on the stage and had no idea how to react to it all.

Caesar looked back and forth between Echo and Beata in disbelief. " Oh my, Lillian can't be happy about this. Echo I can't believe you've gone and fallen for a girl outside of your district, you dog! I'm sorry, but I have to do this, can we stop the clock for just a moment so our lover boy can kiss the girl of his dreams?" He gushed looking to the timers eagerly.

Echo laughed a bit and shook his head, placing a hand on Caesar's shoulder in a friendly way. " Oh that's not necessary, but thank you. I'll give her a lovely kiss later, before we leave the stage, I promise. Lillian will understand, I mean we are engage after all." He told Caesar over the groans and complaints of the capitol people, but the last part had caught everyone's attention.

" You're engaged to Lillian already?" Caesar exclaimed as he looked at Echo as if he'd sprouted a second head.

" Yes, when my grandfather pulled Jay Mellark and I from training it was to discuss a letter I had written to him a few months ago, asking for Lillian's hand in marriage. When we met with him, he agreed to let us get married if I come out of these games alive. I've already promised her a big capitol wedding and Caesar you get exclusive access to everything!" Echo told him with a smile that looked genuinely happy. With the mention of his relationship with Lillian and how she'd feel about him and Beata, he'd decided to take a new approach. He could have an affair with Beata only while in the games making it seem that much more scandalous and entertaining.

" Well we'll hold you to that, we all love a big wedding here and the last one we had was the marriage of Peeta and Katniss Mellark so we're overdue! However fun it is to gush about the details, I'm afraid we have to go back to the games talk though. Echo Odair, the son of two previous champions, do you have any plans already that you've strategized with your mentors so you can sit back here as champion?" He asked, raising a curious eyebrow that made Echo smirk a bit more.

" Oh Caesar, I wouldn't be the son of Finnick Odair if I didn't now would I? I'm going to naturally try to protect Beata until I can't anymore and I'm going to team up with my brother Jay." He told him seriously. " Beata will be my first priority though. I mean obviously it would be hard to choose between Jay and Beata, but I have my fingers crossed the gamemakers won't make me choose between them so soon and possibly they can see it in their hearts to maybe let Beata and I make it out of the games together. My grandfather could possibly even make arrangements for Beata to move to four with me and if she'll have me, we can live their happily because if there's one person who has more of my heart then my sweetest Lillian, it's Beata."

Caesar let out a small and endearing ' awwwe', talk of the games instantly forgotten. He wished Echo the best of luck with his Lillian, Beata situation before the timer went off and Echo thanked Caesar, taking his seat again. He waved down to Beata who just kind of glared at him, but he blew her a kiss anyway making the crowd swoon.

Jay could tell that the interview hadn't quite gone the way Echo had wanted, but he'd done fairly well with all things considered and had acted fast to come up with another way to draw attention to his humanity. Jay was impatient to get his own done and just kept staring at the ground with a fierce, determined expression, just praying that his interview would go over a lot smoother. He wasn't going to blow his interview and was going to get his point across, even with Belladonna and his strange conversation still buzzing around in his mind, or so he kept telling himself.

Jay kind of blocked out the other tributes interviews. There was nothing they could say or do that could possibly entertain him. Echo had nearly screwed up, but lucky for him he was smooth and could make something up quickly while under pressure, Jay wasn't like that. Jay was going to have to lay his heart out on the line and show that he really wasn't over Abigail like everyone had assumed and he'd tried to act. Jett had dealt with his grief by volunteering for the games and getting himself killed, Jay didn't have that option. He needed to make the interview work completely in his favor so his mom could have her old friend back, his dad could have his family and Echo could have everything he needed for his family.

It had taken his name being called twice for Jay to even register that quite a bit of time had already passed and it was his turn to talk with Caesar. He took a shaky deep breath and slowly stood up, the crowd screaming out his name, chanting ' Mellark' over and over again. He didn't hurry up to the stage though, he took his time getting to him, his arms down at his sides and no expression on his face despite the way he was standing tall, almost in a bold gesture. It was his time to show the citizens of Panem that he wasn't a little boy anymore.

" Wow Jay Mellark, what a sight for sore eyes. Last year your beloved district twelve had a successful tribute thanks to your fast thinking and four years ago you stood on this stage as a victor, you've grown up a lot." Caesar said, awe in his voice.

Jay nodded and folded his hands behind his back. " Yeah, four long, miserable years and only one successful tribute, wouldn't exactly say I've been successful. Seems I'm still lacking in a few departments such as hope or faith." He told Caesar in a defeated tone, his eyes dropping down to look at his shoes.

Caesar seemed a bit taken off guard by this and floundered for words for a moment, something that he obviously wasn't used to. " Oh, uh…. You…. You've changed Jay. You were so easy going the last time you were on this stage." He said nervously.

Jay's gaze snapped up to Caesar in a flash, giving the host a slightly hateful look. " Well four years ago when I stood here for my interview I was twelve, hadn't killed anyone or held the body of my dying love and I actually had something to celebrate last year. Being as tribute for a second time not something I've been able to bounce back, especially when I'm going to have to face the ghosts of not only the girl I loved, but the friend I lost here as well." He snapped.

Casar was silent and looked down at the ground. " Abigail Needlepine was the girl you're refereeing to, correct? She was your fellow tribute your first year here?" He asked softly.

" Yeah, she was almost thirteen, engaged to my best friend and died trying to get me out of the woods." Jay whispered, his gaze dropping down again as well. This time there was no hate, it was a sincere, sad expression and even his shoulders slouched forward some.

" She was a fabulous girl, I don't think anyone could deny that. It was a true shame she didn't get to you in time, but you can do her justice by winning these games in her honor as well as your friends. Do you have any tokens from her though, of Abigail? Rumor has it that your tribute token once belonged to her." Caesar said, trying desperately to get the conversation back to an easy flowing thing instead of an obvious struggle and depressing topic it had turned to.

" Yeah… Actually I do. My grandfather Snow and stylist Belladonna actually were able to get me something that she wore as her tribute token. It's her engagement ring that my friend made for her so I'll have them both in the games with me. This year, I'm fighting for her though, this year I'm going to really win for the two of us." He said with a small, confident smile as he started to play with the ring.

" Well you're an amazing competitor and I'm sure you can do it again. How do you feel about going up against Echo Odair however, a person you've called your brother time and time again and also refers to you as his younger brother?" Caesar asked, carefully bringing the topic away from the deaths within the games.

" I feel confident that once the gamemaker's and the people of Panem see us work together, they'll change the rules to allow us to make it out alive together. We are both equally skilled and if it came down to the two of us, it will just be a stalemate and that's just no fun for the viewers as we've seen in the past. He doesn't have any tricks that I don't know and vice versa and it would be impossible for our grandfather to choose between us as to who deserves to win. I've done my best to help Echo and Beata during our training times, as you can obviously tell from our twelve training scores which I'm quite proud of if I do say so myself." Jay told him with a shrug, not really seeming bothered by it because he knew that Snow would keep his word.

" Ahh yes, you've been called the terrible threesome by your training experts. Inseparable even by a few." Caesar told him with a small sigh once the timer went off and Jay's three minutes were up. " It's a shame we can't have Beata interview tonight, but she and her mentor made such a pleading case to Snow that he just couldn't bring himself to refuse them. Perhaps we can have her and Echo up on stage here with you Jay? It might be tough to see your brother falling in love when yours was so cruelly ripped away by fate and he already has the unforgettable Lillian, but surely it would be alright?" Caesar suggested as he scanned the crowds and nodded at someone out in the crowd.

" I don't have a problem with it if they don't." Jay muttered. Everything really seemed to be working in his favor thus far and what could one little photo opportunity do but boost his and Echo's popularity? He was seen as supportive of Echo's love for Beata, accepting of her as part of their little alliance they had created while waiting to parade through the capitol in their ridiculous costumes which would look incredible to others.

Caesar quickly motioned for Beata and Echo to join them on stage, Echo happily taking Beata's hand and pulling her close to him despite her squirming and feeble attempts to get away from him while still seeming to be composed. She looked like she was trembling as she reached Jay and Caesar so Jay took her hand to try and give her some extra support that Echo obviously hadn't been giving her. She gave him a small smile to Jay in a thankful gesture and Caesar let out an audible sigh of joy making Jay roll his eyes.

" Why don't you three go on out to the edge of the stage? Strike a pose even! Show the people of Panem what kind of force they can expect to see on their screens, the same force that stuck together in training and were worthy of the only awarded twelves." Caesar told them, pushing them forward.

Jay took the lead, but still refused to smile even though Beata and Echo were. Echo trailed a little bit behind Beata nervously, he still wasn't fully ready for what he had to do. Now was his chance to show Snow that he was agreeing and he wasn't quite sure how to go about it. At the edge of the stage, Jay stopped and held up his hand that held Beata's his ring visible and glittering in the bright lights, Snow would undoubtedly see it and know his answer if he hadn't already caught on, so Echo had to act fast.

Echo grabbed Beata by the waist, spinning her around to face him. Jay released her hand, guessing what was going to happen, a scowl making him look completely annoyed but he looked away from them and to Belladonna who was giving him thumbs up. Echo pulled Beata closer to him, giving her his irresistible smile, making a few of the woman in the audience sigh loudly and call out his and Jay rolled his eyes more.

" Sorry it's gotta be like this now, I've wanted to do this since I saw you in that blue box and honestly I don't know how long I'll have and I don't want to miss out on this." Echo whispered, taking the crown from his head and placed it on Beata's head. " It looks beautiful on you…" He murmured before he tipped her back, kissing her passionately before Beata could object or struggle against him.

The audience cheered and after a few minutes Jay tapped Echo's shoulder when he felt the kiss had lasted long enough. " Come on, don't get too carried away, this is a live show afterall." He warned Echo who just smirked down at blushing and breathless Beata.

Caesar walked up to join them, wishing Panem a goodnight. He thanked Echo, Beata and Jay for a memorable interview before ushering them off stage. Beata had nothing to say as Echo and Jay walked on either side of her. Neither of the boys was smiling, knowing they had just signed her death certificate. Jay couldn't help but feel like she was a deer, one that would get shot somewhere vital but didn't realize it was shot and dying at first, taking off deeper into the woods. That was Beata. She'd already been killed and she didn't realize it yet.

The thing about the deer too was that they didn't realize they were dying until it was too late and they couldn't go any further, dropping to the ground as the horror sunk in. She had just been shot by Jay and Echo but didn't know it yet and the horror was soon going to strike her as their numbers dwindled in the arena and it came down to the final three. The only difference between her and deer was that the deer died fairly quickly once its body had realized it had been shot somewhere vital it died quickly, Beata was going to have a slow death.

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><p><em><strong>Sorry this took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait. From this point on we get more of the Doctor, Katniss, Peeta, Annie and Finnick as well as more from the view of Beata! No more 'boring' chapters!<strong>_


	13. Chapter 13 : It Begins Again

Chapter 13 – It Begins Again

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><p>Katniss and Peeta stood in their mentoring area, staring at the monitors of the arena with heavy hearts. This year, the Gamemaker's had really gone all out despite it not being a Quarter Quell. The cornucopia sat on a small island in the middle of a river that seemed to move at a lazy pace but periodically it sped up to a deadly pace. There was a thick forest that ran the full length of this river and around the edges of the circular arena, but there were two separate climates instead of the usual one. To the East of the cornucopia, there were little patches of trees making up miniature forests here and there, frozen rivers and a few ponds, some completely frozen, some just frozen on the top and one or two not iced over at all. To the West of the cornucopia was a desert landscape with a couple shallow ponds some miniature forests that didn't offer much protection from the elements. The worst of the two areas weren't the rivers that varied in steam from scary fast on the desert side and snail paced on the artic side, but rather the mountains. There weren't any regular mountains, they were volcanoes and they were set to go off at any second without warning, only the Gamemakers and Snow knowing what was within them and they were spaced out among the two climates.<p>

Katniss and Peeta hadn't seen their son since shortly after his interview the night before and had no idea how he was handling his morning which made them feel like terrible parents. As mentors, they were now required to leave the night of interviews to ready themselves in the mentors building. From their assigned areas, the mentors could see everything going on with their tribute. The mentors had already agreed to split into two separate groups, one would sleep while the other watched the games and made their decisions about gifts. The Doctor was just being grouped in with them so there hadn't been any need for the district twelve tributes to split up even further as they had originally planned. Katniss and Peeta however hadn't divided up into either group and planned to sleep as little as possible so they could watch all of the games that they possibly could.

Katniss sighed as she reached up to touch one of the screens. The sun had risen already reveling the lay of the land and too soon Jay would be raised up in a glass tube, on a metal plate to once more fight for his life. " Were we wrong Peeta? To trade our lives to risk his?" She whispered, her voice weak and barely a whisper. Everyone else was still asleep, but neither Peeta nor Katniss could sleep, their nightmares no longer in their sleeps alone but in this awful reality.

Peeta had been standing behind Katniss and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her against him. " We didn't think it would come to this love. We never expected the odds would be as much in his favor as they had been in ours. He's going to be fine though, he's working with Echo and they have Beata on his side. He's made it through once, he can make it through it again." Peeta whispered, resting his chin on the top of Katniss' head.

Katniss closed her eyes and tried to take a steadying deep breath. " I don't know Peeta. He's not the same as he was the first time, it's easy to tell. He has seen his fellow tributes die, killing a few of them himself, having been a mentor himself and having one successful tribute, even he's seen more death than any of the other tributes who have watched the games. He's already experienced this already, he's already been in the arena once. That's not something he can just forget and move on from Peeta, we both should know that from our own experiences." She pointed out bitterly.

" As true as that is Katniss, he's strong. I hate to admit it, but our boy is stronger than either of us." He pointed out, kissing the top of her head. His eyes never wavered from the screens though, feeling as if the second he took his eyes off them Jay would be raised onto the field.

" We _thought_ we were strong Peeta, Snow and Coin showed us we really weren't. We played the capitol like it was a game we invented. We played on their motherly instincts, their humanity, and their love of splendid things. For crying out loud the first time we got in front of them, you admitted your love for me, then you proposed to me in front of them and finally you even outed my pregnancy thinking we could get out of this game unscratched. We got scratched bad Peeta, real bad. They hijacked you, I got taken for the rebellion, they killed hundreds of innocents and they killed our daughter Peeta! We thought we were strong enough to stand up to the capitol, no matter what they throw our way and this is what happened to us. We're continually at the mercy of Snow and watching our son having to fight again for his life. There is no way in heaven or hell that our son is stronger than us." She whispered, closing her eyes as tears started to form at the edges of her eyes. " I can still hear her screaming in my dreams Peeta, the night they ripped her from my arms. I can see it all, hear it all and it kills me a little bit each time because they took my daughter."

Peeta was silent and wasn't sure what to say. " Yeah, they did take _our_ little Leta didn't they…" He trailed off quietly.

" Yes they took our daughter and killed her just because she had a possible connection to Gale. We could have hidden her Peeta, we should have tried harder. Said her name was let-uh instead of lee-ta and let someone else take care of her. She would have been safer that way. They didn't know what she looked like and let's be honest, all babies look the same pretty much and all they had was her name. We could have saved her Peeta." Katniss' voice broke as the tears started to fall down her face.

" We never could have lived with ourselves if we had done that." He pointed out as he closed his eyes. He still felt like someone was stomping on his heart whenever Katniss mentioned Leta even though it had been years.

" And we can now? Tell me how it would be any different." Katniss challenged, her voice growing sharp with anger.

" We'd always be wondering where our daughter was." Peeta muttered knowing it was a weak argument, but the best he could come with.

" So that makes it better what Snow did to her? To us?" Katniss spat, trying to get out of his arms, but he tightened his grip on her enough to where she couldn't get away.

" What Snow did was unspeakable, it wasn't right to kill an infant just because it was known who her father was, I would never try to justify what Snow did. I was willing to claim full responsibility for her and Gale was going to give her fully to us even though we didn't know for sure she was my daughter. Gale even swore he would never claim her as his daughter and would never tell a soul the truth that you had slept with him a weeks before you and I did." Peeta reminded, reaching up to brush some stray hairs from her face as he waited for her to slowly relax.

With a huff, Katniss stopped struggling against Peeta so he relaxed his grip quite a bit. " That was the biggest mistake of my life. Gale never should have died and neither should our daughter have. Jay doesn't even know about her, Snow made sure to cover her up completely. Leta was our little princess." Katniss sighed before pulling out of his arms and moving to take a seat in front of one of the monitors.

Peeta had opened his mouth to say something, but there was a small knock before someone cleared their throat. Peeta spun around and smiled warmly at the visitors. " I hope we're not interrupting something." Annie's weak voice came and instantly made Katniss smile and wipe at the tears on her face.

" No, nothing too important anyway. What can we do for you two?" Peeta asked as he strode over to shake hands with Finnick.

" Well we just thought we'd stop by before all the fun starts and wish you two luck. Since we'll be working together it seems we also thought it'd be nice to watch the bloodbath." Finnick said with a small shrug as Annie and Katniss hugged. " Neither one of us want to watch it alone. We thought it would be better to watch Echo and Jay with you two since we watched Jay's first time as a group."

" Well that works out since Doctor, Peeta and I are going to be on the first watch and are supposed to be the only ones so it'd be nice to have you with us." Katniss whispered as she wiped the last of her tears away. She felt like such a fool for crying. Before she'd gotten pregnant with Leta, she hardly ever cried, but since then, it seemed like she cried all the time.

Finnick nodded in understanding, wrapping an arm around Annie. " Well we're happy to help you while we can. Annie needs a bit of companionship right now, she got a bit of a shock this morning and I don't think she could handle watching them with the other district four mentors because they take such pleasure in these games." He told them with a small smile as he looked down at Annie lovingly once Annie started to nod her head in eager agreement.

" Oh what could that be?" Peeta asked curiously. He wrapped his arm around Katniss' waist and she rested her head on his shoulder with her arms wrapped around him as well. They both silently hoped that Annie and Finnick were alright, they had been wishing them lots of luck since the beginning.

Annie blushed a bit and placed a protective hand over her stomach. She looked up at Finnick who just gave her and encouraging smile and nudged her forward a bit, She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down, but Katniss had already formed an idea about what she was going to say and tightened her grip on Peeta. " I'm pregnant again. I don't want to make a big deal about it, but Finnick keeps insisting we get a little bit excited this time. I don't want it to be like the last times and we made so many arrangements just for me to lose them…" She trailed off as she dropped her gaze.

Katniss and Peeta were both stunned silent despite Katniss having guessed correctly. It was still a little hard for her to swallow. They knew that Finnick and Annie had always wanted more than one child and that Annie kept losing the poor things fairly early, each time seemed to crush the two, but they had thought they'd given up at last. They were still young though, just in their thirties so it wasn't too late for them to have a good sized family, but one would think they would have just thought to give up. Katniss was the first one to come to her senses and she excused herself, feeling her stomach knot up painfully.

Peeta apologized as he watched Katniss leave, knowing it was useless to try and go after her. " Today's Leta's birthday so you'll have to excuse Katniss. She would have been eighteen today and these games have really made Katniss think about her since we're facing losing Jay a second time." He whispered, dropping his own gaze.

Finnick looked thoroughly embarrassed and scratched the back of his neck nervously. " There's no need for you to apologize. Had we stopped to think about it, we wouldn't have said anything. We both know that she took Leta's death really hard, I'm actually surprised you convinced her to have Jay…" He said, clearing his throat as he tried to recover from the little mishap.

" Actually I convinced her of nothing. I argued with her until I was blue in the face, I spent plenty of nights on the couch or our drinking with Haymitch because she was so stubborn and adamant about not wanting kids. It was Snow's threats against her mom and Prim that made her finally give in. Snow had Prim injured so Katniss would know he was serious and so she turned things around and a few months later, we got Jay." Peeta sighed as he crossed his arms. He didn't like to talk about how Snow was the only reason they had Jay, but then again, Snow was the reason they didn't have their daughter.

" We had no idea…. I'm so sorry." Annie whispered as she pressed herself even closer to Finnick like she did anytime she was scared or felt bad.

Peeta shook his head and motioned for them to follow him to a little sitting area made up of a couple of couches and chairs. " It's fine, you two should be happy right now and not concern yourself with Katniss or I's problems. Katniss has just been realizing how much family really does mean to her. Well at least more than Prim and her mother. She's starting to realize what I've been trying to tell her all along, a large family is a good thing." He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, Annie and Finnick taking a seat on the couch across from his chair.

" I take it you two have decided against having another child?" Annie whispered as she curled up next to Finnick. Despite everything that had happened, the two never seemed to leave their honeymoon stage and many still thought they were newlyweds because of the way they acted.

" That's correct. If we intended to have more children, we would have done it before. Jay is enough of a handful as it is and well we already had a daughter." Peeta said with a small shrug. He had argued for more kids till it had almost ruined their but it had gotten him nowhere with Katniss. She was just too stubborn and both pregnancies had been terrifying to her. " As much as I wish Katniss would have been alright with more children, I respect her decisions and I'm just happy to had Leta for that little bit of time and we have Jay for the time being."

" Well that's perfectly understandable. You two haven't exactly had the best of luck with children. There was a chance that Leta had been Gale's, you hadn't been there while she'd been pregnant the first time and it had taken Leta's birth for you to start coming to your senses after being hijacked and then Snow forced Katniss into Jay so soon after Leta's death." Finnick whispered as he silently thanked his lucky stars that he and Annie hadn't been in the same boat. He wasn't exactly sure how long after Leta's death Snow had started to try and force them into another, but Jay wasn't too much younger then Leta and it would be too soon after suffering any loss like that and not waiting a few years.

Peeta was silent once more, having no idea what to say. At that moment though, a lovely chime went off and Claudis Templesmith's voice rang out. " Attention mentor's, this is your two minute warning. Tributes will be on the field in one minute and the games begin in two. May the odds be _ever_ in your favor!" With that another chime came and then silence.

Katniss stood just outside the screen room, breathing heavily and trying to get the strength to go back in and face Annie and Finnick. This was it, this was really it. In one minute her son, her only living child, would be raised to the field and would have sixty seconds to form a plan and get out of the cornucopia or fight like he'd never had to fight again in the games. She pushed off the wall as her heart started to race, imagining his struggle. She was on the verge of a breakdown and it was obvious, but there was no one to stop her, or so she thought.

" Katniss, am I too late?" A now familiar voice called from down the hall, making Katniss jump.

She looked up to see the Doctor trying to straighten his bowtie and walking towards her at almost a run. " No, that was just the warning. We have a bit of company, two from four, but Peeta's already in there." She told him as she struggled to get herself composed again, struggling not to look like the mess she felt like.

" Alright, thank you Mrs. Mellark. Beata would kill me if I missed this. Well either her or someone else in her family is going to kill me anyways at the end of this." He said with a small smile. Katniss rolled her eyes, he still rarely called her Katniss and she didn't understand it. She said nothing though and moved to him, to fix his bowtie for him.

He amazed Katniss. The way he wasn't scared or worried and treated everything like some kind of joke. She wished she could have been like him, but she was from Panem and had already seen too much, these were his first games however. Most children grew up in the districts and were already mostly desensitized by the time they were old enough to have their first memory of the games while this would be completely fresh to the Doctor. He was in for a major shock and she had tried to talk him out of watching, but he wouldn't listen.

" Well then, let's make sure she doesn't have too much cause to do it." She told him as she forced a smile and led him into the room. Peeta had served up some complimentary champagne to everyone but Annie and had set out a few comfort foods, including the lamb and plum stew she loved so much. She gave him a weak smile before taking a seat beside him and happily accepting the glass from him. The games were the only time she broke her rule about not drinking but Peeta made sure she didn't get too drunk like Haymitch.

The Doctor moved to stand in front of one of the screens that was the cornucopia, his face stern and unforgiving, refusing the champagne without a second thought. " This is a terrible thing that these children must go through." He said softly, making all four turn to look at him with wide eyes. Usually no one said anything ill about the games or Snow in the mentor buildings aside from the four of them who had personally experiences his nasty bite.

" As true as that might be Doctor, there's nothing to be done about it." Finnick said in a soft tone that showed just how sad the thought made him. " Why do you think we're in so much trouble with Snow? Just have a drink to try and numb yourself before it starts Doctor. I'm sure you've already heard the hopeless speech and have accepted it."

" Ahh… That's not entirely true." He said with a small gin as all of them looked at the screens as the tributes were raised and the usual greeting from Templesmith could be heard. " That's going to change these games. That right there is going to bring an end to this tradition of creating murderers." The Doctor told them as he pointed to Beata, or rather what was clutched in her trembling hands.

Beata was staring at Jay and Echo who were directly across from them. Jay jerked his head forward a bit and mouthed _' run, climb'_ to Beata. She looked back at the trees behind her terrified but looked at him again, nodding, understanding that they wanted her to run to the tree line behind her and climb a tree. She trusted Jay and Echo to find her once they had acquired weapons and supplies, she had no other choice but to do so. In her hands, she clutched a blue and silver, wand like object, her token for the games. It had been deemed not a weapon, but she knew better. In her hands was the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. Her only true hope in the games and the only way she and the doctor could make their plan work. They were going to bring down the games from the inside where Snow couldn't stop them.

" Doctor what is that?" Katniss asked confused as she stood up and numbly walked towards him. Peeta, Finnick and Annie all stared at the Doctor in stunned silence.

" Hope." He muttered, his eyes never leaving Beata. When the sixty seconds were up and the gong rang out, most of the tributes made a mad dash for the cornucopia to gather something if not anything to try and aid them. The Doctor's eyes never left the monitor tracking Beata. " Run." He mumbled under his breath as he folded his arms across his chest.

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><p>Thank you soo much to Purplicious Rose for my first review! Hope this is a good transition from EchoJay to Doctor/Mentors, just please review? (:


	14. Chapter 14 : Cockamamie

Chapter 14 – Cockamamie

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><p>Katniss was starting to visibly tremble and Peeta knew what was coming soon and walked over and lead her to a chair. " Doctor what have you done?" Peeta demanded. He very rarely got angry, but the four of them had caught onto what the Doctor had said and knew where things were going. Annie had even started to drift off into her own world again and Finnick was trying hard to comfort her while glaring hatefully at the Doctor.<p>

" What do you mean Mr. Mellark?" The Doctor asked as he looked at Peeta quizzically. It was unclear as to if he knew what he'd done yet or not. " I've done absolutely nothing wrong as your tone would suggest I have."

" What you've done is put another target on our back!" Finnick exclaimed as he pulled Annie against him as she went full on into one of her fits. Her head was buried in his chest, ears covered and she was shaking.

" This is what you want to discuss at this time? You know not that the games have started now and three tributes have just been killed?" The Doctor asked stunned as he pointed to the screens, snapping Katniss out of her shocked state.

Her head snapped up towards the screens and her heart stopped, realizing that the doctor was right. The bloodbatht was _not_ a good time to discuss a rebellion. " Would everyone shut up for five minutes! Our tributes, our sons are fighting right now, we can deal with him later!" Katniss nearly screamed as she watched the screen, her eyes going wide and her face paling.

Jay and Echo had gone straight into the bloodbath and Jay had narrowly missed taking a spear to the back of the head. He had ducked at the last second to pick up a plastic container filled with dried fruit, the spear tip barely grazing his still spiked blonde hair. Echo heard Jay's cry for him and spun around, tossing two daggers at Jay's attacker when she pulled the spear back to take a second attempt while Jay had been distracted. One knife buried itself in his chest, the other in the stomach of the girl from five who had tried to kill Jay. The girl looked at them with wide eyes before collapsing. Jay stood up right away though and grabbed the knives and spear, giving the knives back to Echo.

" C'mon!" He shouted to Echo before rushing ever further in, making Katniss squeeze Peeta's hand, their fight forgotten for the moment. Jay had his sights set on a bow and arrow set and five backpacks deep within the cornucopia so it was sure to have important and expensive things in it.

Jay swung the spear around, stabbing a boy from ten in the stomach while Echo snatched a pack from his hands as they passed the first one that Jay wanted. They scooped up what they could while running and dodging attacks or trying to get good aim at someone coming after them. They grabbed seven packs in all, the five Peeta wanted plus a couple as they made their way back out of the cornucopia, filling them with as much as they possibly could. The two also grabbed all the weapons they were able to before making a mad dash to the tree line where Beata was safely hidden, sure they had enough supplies.

As soon as they were in the trees, everyone in the bloodbath seemed to forget about them so they weren't pursued. Everyone seemed to let out a huge sigh of relief and Katniss started to release her grip on Peeta. She looked to a screen on their right which had all of Jaide and Jay's statistics on it. Jay's name now had a kill under it, Brutus Bullbelle. Katniss knew that Echo's would have the name of the tribute he'd killed as well under his name so he was even with Jay, something the sponsors would like since neither one of them had shown any restraint.

" The boys are safe in the trees for the time being, they got a lot of supplies, the bloodbath is still on and those who escaped to the trees went on the other side of the river. They should be set for a while or at least until the end of the night." Peeta sighed, running his fingers through his hair before downing the champagne in his glass in just one gulp.

" Well it looks like Jaide is working with the careers, lucky she made it into that pack. Even though her family's from one, I'm sure she'll have to prove herself." Katniss whispered, trying to take Peeta, Finnick and Annie's minds off of Echo and Jay.

" Well congrats on both your tributes making it, it looks like Marina was killed in the bloodbath, the boy Jay killed, he had killed her so we have just one tribute to move on. Lucky us, we get to just focus on Echo this time." Finnick sighed as he shook his head. " Ten down, fourteen to go…"

" I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure that's going to weigh heavily on your younger mentors." Katniss whispered. She was silently thankful that Jaide had made it, but envied Finnick and Annie because they didn't have to divide their resources between two tributes.

There came a light knock at the door and a girl cleared her throat. Peeta sighed as he got up and crossed the room to her, keeping his eyes down at he ran his fingers nervously through his hair. " Yes?" He asked with a small huff, freezing a few steps from her as he finally looked at her.

The girl had blonde hair and grey eyes and he knew those eyes all too well. He had painted them a thousand times over. The girl gave him a small smile too which made his stomach knot nervously. He shot a look back to Katniss, but she had moved back to the Doctor's side and was having a heated, hushed discussion with him and seemed oblivious to their guest thankfully.

" I'm sorry to interrupt, but I've been charged with handing out the sponsor information now that the bloodbath is at an end." She said holding out a silver platter with three envelopes on it. " I was told to also bring the sponsor information for four here as well, the other mentors think that Mr. and Mrs. Odair would know what to do with it better than they would."

Peeta just nodded, his mouth and throat dry. He reached out and took the ones labeled T.A.R.D.I.S and twelve. Finnick had walked up beside Peeta as he heard his and Annie's names mentioned and also had a stunned look on his face, reaching out to take the envelope marked four, unable to look away from Lillian, Snow's great-granddaughter.

" Le-Leta?" Finnick stammered out softly, confused. He had never seen Snow's family, Snow did his best to keep them hidden from anyone who had been involved with the latest rebellion. Seeing the girl before him there wasn't any part of Snow that was obvious, but rather many similar attributes to Katniss and her sister Prim.

The girl giggled a bit and a light blush painted her cheeks. " That's what my father calls me, that's been his nickname for me since I was little but no one else has ever called me Leta before. My name is Lillian. Lillian Hawthorne, I'm President Snow's great-granddaughter." She told them both a little confused.

Peeta felt like he'd had the wind knock out of him and it was a struggle to stay upright. " Ha-Ha-Hawthorne?" He choked out. Everything had started to spin for him and he felt like he was going to lose his stomach's contents at any second.

" Yes, Lillian Rose Hawthorne, or as my father calls me Little Leta Thorne. My father is Gale Hawthorne and I don't remember my mother's name because she died when I was a baby and no one likes to talk about her with me." She told them brightly, obvious to why the two men looked like they'd seen a ghost. Her smile and happy tone never even faded when she talked about her dead mother, but then again she hadn't ever known her mother.

" Finnick." Peeta hisses, feeling one of his old attacks coming on. He couldn't believe what she was saying. He felt like it was some personal hell that Snow was trying to force him into, even worse than the darkest parts of hell Snow had forced him into upon his kidnapping. If Snow was looking to torture him and Katniss, Leta and Gale were the perfect ways to.

Finnick reaches up and squeezes Peeta's shoulder in some form of support. " Is this all you're doing or is there more?" He asked, trying to seem a little bit in control of himself. He knew how bad it would be for Peeta and Katniss is she was there for more than the quick drop off. Katniss would break down at the sight of Leta and would fight for Gale if he was still alive.

" Actually, I'm the errand girl for district twelve this year, my grandfather has sent me here to live for the duration of the games. He says it will do us all some good, especially since I'm engaged to Echo and Jay and I have made a sort of friendship at all of the events we've attended together. I just need to know which room I can have to tell my stylists where to put my things." She told them excitedly.

" Room eight." Peeta told her and she just nodded, smiling brightly and left them to do God knew what. He and Echo had both forgotten about hers and Echo's engagement let alone the fact that she knew both of their boys quite well. That moment just wasn't the time to talk about it however, so neither of them brought it up.

" Peeta don't freak out." Finnick instructed him once Lillian, Leta, had left the room. He moved in front of Peeta and studied his face knowing what happened when he got too big a shock still. He wasn't sure how long it had been since his last freak out, but he didn't want to see him relapse.

" I'm trying hard not to Finnick. That was my daughter, or rather Katniss and Gale's daughter." He said between clenched teeth, a distant look in his eyes. He was certain looking at her that she wasn't his. There wasn't a single quality about Leta that looked like him. He figured that if she had been his daughter, she would have looked even a little like him.

" She's your daughter Peeta, don't do this to yourself or your family. You've believed Leta has been yours ever since you walked in on Katniss having her. Remember? You returned to your old self completely that night and you said that little girl saved your life. You bit off the head of anyone who dared to tell you she wasn't yours and you promised her that you were going to always be her daddy, no matter what. Keep that in mind." Finnick instructed him, giving him a stern look. Finnick really didn't like the way that Peeta was talking about Leta after all that he had done for the little girl during her first year of life.

Peeta was still, rigid, his heart beating wildly and sweat beaded on his forehead. " That's proof she's not my daughter though. She's not mine." He growled. He had long since gotten over his hatred of Gale for sleeping with Katniss and had forgiven her, but that was mostly because he had believed he had something that Gale would never have. He was married to Katniss and they had a family together. He had been wrong, Gale had a family with Katniss.

" She's your daughter Peeta. You married Katniss, that makes you her father no matter what even if it's not blood. You were there from the time she was born until the she was taken. Gale wasn't there for her first steps, her first smile, didn't comfort her at night when she needed only the touch of another human being those first few weeks and Gale wasn't that one she giggled up at and called daddy back in district thirteen." Finnick argued as he looked over his shoulder at Katniss who was still arguing with the Doctor. He really hoped he was making some kind of impact on Peeta, appealing to the side of him that loved being married with a family, the side that had swelled with pride when his daughter had been born and then again when his son had been born and the side that had yearned for his little girl back in his arms again.

Peeta let his words sink in before letting out a deep breath, knowing Finnick was right. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, starting to calm down again. He was starting to realizing just what a big deal it would mean if Lillian really was Leta, but he didn't want Katniss to get her hopes up just to be told Lillian wasn't who they thought she was. " Finnick, we don't mention this to Katniss, not even a hint, got it? Can you do a favor for me and track down Lillian, Leta, whatever you want to call her, tell her not to mention her true name or her father's name to Katniss? I don't think Katniss could handle it if she knew Leta was still alive and so is Gale. If she knows, she'll want to jump in with Doctor nutter over there and start a rebellion again. Fire never really dies down when water is splashed on it, it smolders, slowly flickering out but it can be revived…"

" Snow's threats were the water…" Finnick whispered, catching onto what Peeta was saying rather quickly.

Peeta nodded. " And Leta and Gale are stray embers." He finished, turning back to look at Katniss. " With Jay in the games again, I fear that she'll encourage a rebellion worse than before. Her last one was almost successful, imagine what she could do with a second chance…"

" My lips are sealed. As much as I love Katniss as a friend, I wouldn't let her do that again. Not when you two have so much to lose now." Finnick promised him before turning and walking out of the district twelve sections, in search of Lillian.

Peeta ran his fingers through his hair, reassuring Annie that Finnick would be back in a moment. Annie accepted it and went back to watching the screens that showed Jay and Echo trying to divide up their goods having just found Beata in her amazing hiding place. They hadn't made it out of the trees and still had no idea what awaited them outside of the protective tree line. Peeta knew it would be easy dealing with Annie, she was always gentle and sweet, unlike Katniss when she was all fired up, no pun intended.

He slowly made his way over to Katniss and the Doctor, placing a hand lightly on her lower back, hoping she would calm down a bit and not make an enemy of the Doctor even though he had made a stupid, terrible move without speaking with them first. Katniss didn't even look up at him as she felt her face flush some, she didn't need Peeta to try and stand up for her like she knew he would. " Doctor you are insane! Must I tell you that every two seconds for crying out loud?" She hissed, trying to keep their argument quiet enough to not cause Annie to panic again.

The Doctor didn't seem the least bit upset or put off by Katniss' obvious anger and having not tried once to stop her from expressing her anger and dislike of his so called ' plan'. " As much as I love hearing I'm mad, believe when I say you're not the first to tell me so it longer bothers me. What you're failing to see is that this isn't about me. Do you want to see your son come home from these games? Don't you think those children deserve to go home to their parents as well?" He challenged.

" Of course I want my son to come home, but he's safe in the games and think those children to go him! They all have sponsors though and mentors. Especially Jay! He has plenty sponsors, he has a whole team up here that are going to be watching him 'round the clock to make sure he's safe, this is his second time and he has been a mentor himself. He's going to come home if you don't do this, but if you actually go through with this, Snow will ensure I never get to see my son alive in person again." Katniss pointed out in an almost pleading tone.

" Do what?" Peeta asked confused as he looked down at Katniss, sure that he looked as normal as ever again. He had walked in during the tail end of their argument it seemed, but he had already caught on that the plan he had for a rebellion was no good.

Katniss sighed, feeling a bit annoyed to have to take time from trying to convince the Doctor that he was wrong, just to explain how flawed the plan was in general to Peeta. " He wants Beata to shut down the force field that keeps the tributes in the arena. He wants her to convince Echo and Jay to help her do it and he expects the other tributes to follow along as well as for us to get the other mentors to go along with it." Katniss explained as she shot Peeta a fearful look.

Peeta knew why she especially hated this plan, it was too much like before. " I'm sorry Doctor but you can't expect us to go along with this. We already lost my family, almost lost Katniss' family, lost friends and a baby to a similar cockamamie scheme before and we're not going to put our son and the son of our friends at risk." Peeta told the Doctor flatly, pulling Katniss tighter against him for a brief moment.

The Doctor studied them for a moment before turning back to watch the screen. " I'm sorry you two feel that way, but it's too late. One way or another I'm bringing the end to these games, they've gone on for far too long. Snow has crossed the line by making me angry, he threatened my companion, took my .D.I.S and thinks he can control me by sheer force. By trapping Beata and I here, he was brought on a battle he never should have even considered for a flicker of a moment. I have killed entire races, destroyed whole planets, causing one little uprising over children will be a piece of cake." He told them in a tone that told them that he was serious and that it was the end of their discussion.

" So help me God, if you get my son killed, you will regret it. I may not have killed a whole race or destroyed a planet, but I have caused an entire country to rise up on an accident and came so close to ending these games just because I was trying to save loved ones. I want you to just imagine for one second what I could do if I was trying and my son was threatened like you are doing now." Katniss growled, her eyes narrowing at him for a second. She turned away from Peeta, telling him she was going to wake the others, it was time for them to start doing their jobs.

Peeta let out a huge sigh, already able to tell that it was going to be an interesting game and something he was surely never going to forget. " Doctor, she means every word she says. If I was you I would not evoke her wrath." He warned. " She may not seem as strong or scary, but believe me, she terrifies even the boldest of men and pop any ego with one glance. If you start a war with her, it won't end until there is bloodshed."

" I will evoke her wrath if it means saving lives. It may not bother you that your son killed another child today or that his friend did as well, but it bothers me. I don't like seeing children turned into soldiers or being used for entertainment by being exploited like this." The Doctor muttered carelessly.

Peeta rolled his eyes and moved over to the seats to overlook their sponsors and available funds. He wasn't in the mood to tell the Doctor how pointless it was to try and start a rebellion or deal with Katniss in a bad mood.

" Welcome to the Hunger Games." Annie said softly as she curled up on the couch and watched the screens intensely.

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><p><em><strong>More lovely twists and turns! Thank you PR for another lovely review! I haven't yet decided if I'm going to make LillianLeta Peeta or Gale's daughter, so let me know what you think? Who should her father really be?**_


	15. Chapter 15 : Let's Get Started

Chapter 15 – Let's Get Started

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><p>Jay couldn't help but feel proud of himself and Echo for the loot they had collected at the cornucopia. They had more than he'd ever had in the games before and was confident that it could last them until the end of the games if they rationed it correctly and didn't take on any new members to their little alliance, something he didn't see happening. It was already going to be hard enough to kill Beata, he didn't want to think about having to turn on another alliance member, especially since it lucked out that Echo and Jay were going to be the ones leaving the games.<p>

The cannons started to go off, but Jay was too caught up in admiring the weapons and products they had collected and didn't care. Echo seemed to ignore the cannon's too, they didn't matter since they were guaranteed to the final two if Snow could help it and there was a lot he could do. The deaths of the other tributes mean nothing to them since it didn't matter how many died, they would see who all died later on, that was when it mattered.

Beata looked to the sky curiously so Echo sighed. " Each cannon represents one tribute dead. They wait until after the bloodbath to let the cannons ring out so that it's easier for us to keep track of, but at night it's easier to keep count." He explained without looking up from the bag he was carefully emptying.

Beata look horrified as the last cannon blasted. " Ten are already dead? Are there always that many deaths so early on?" She gasped, causing the two boys to laugh.

" One year a couple of the tributes decided to try and make a run for it as soon as they were raised to the field and caused a chain reaction so bad that all the tributes got blown up at once and they had to get twenty-four new tributes so they could actually have a show." Jay told her as he remembered that year. He had been eight so he had found it actually amusing.

" Oh, remember a few years ago when the bloodbath was so bad that only two survived it and they were able to evade each other for three weeks no matter what the Gamemaker's did? The only reason they ended the games was because one of them starting spatting out nonsense and anti-capitol slander." Echo sighed, shaking his head and seeming amused.

" Oh yes… That was interesting that they let it actually go on for so long…" Jay mused with a small shrug. " It was entertaining to see how the two made such fools of themselves without the help of anyone else."

" You two act like this is something casual and actually a fairly good thing!" Beata hissed, sounding downright disgusted. She didn't understand guys under the best of circumstances but she especially didn't understand Echo and Jay.

Both boys stopped what they were doing to give her slightly annoyed expressions. " Beata, we were raised in this world unlike you. We have two ways of looking at the games, entertainment or something much worse that could get a person in a lot of trouble and make ones life in Panem a living hell. It's just easier to look at it through the capitol eyes, as entertainment of sorts. We see this every year, it's no big deal to us anymore, especially when our parents are victors and we've seen so many tribute deaths. When you've grown up the way I have Beata, then you can judge this all you want, but until then, you have no true opinion." Jay pointed out.

" Exactly. As long as you're not in the games, it's rather interesting." Echo sighed before shaking his head again in disbelief of her. " It's umm… What was his name again? I think it was Darwing? Yeah, Darwin! This is Darwinism at work." He said as he ran his fingers through his hair, hoping he had gotten the right theorist since he hadn't paid too much attention in school when he had actually gone to class.

Beata opened her mouth to say something, but Jay shot her a look that stopped her. " Now is _not_ the time to be discussing this Beata. We're part of these games, now let's give them a show. When tributes get too boring, they do terrible things to try and spice up the games. The bloodbath has earned us a couple of hours of downtime so let's not waste them arguing morals." He told her, going back to sorting out their things.

Beata fell silent, knowing he had a point about it being the wrong time and to be honest, she was terrified of the Gamemaker's. She didn't like having to just drop the subject though and sat back against a tree twirling the sonic screwdriver in her hands idly, watching the sky, listening for more canons. " What is that thing?" Echo asked curiously as he handed Jay an empty pack since Jay was starting to divide their loot into different bags as a way to ration it.

Beata shrugged as she looked down at the silver and blue object, laying it flat in the middle of her palm. It looked more like a wand than a screwdriver, but that was just her opinion. " It's called a sonic screwdriver, but honestly I don't see anything sonic about it. Mostly it's just used to pick locks, register an alien race or scan to see if a person's healthy. I don't even know why the doctor gave it to me to be perfectly honest, all he told me was that when I needed to use it, I just had to point and click." She explained with an exasperated huff, lying flawlessly. She knew exactly why she'd been given the sonic, but wasn't going to reveal that to them just yet.

" Well it's good that you have something to remind you of T.A.R.D.I.S at least." Echo pointed out as Jay handed him a filled pack.

" I suppose so. You have rope don't you Echo? Nothing from Lillian?" She asked as she pocketed the sonic, trying not to sound annoyed with him.

" Just the rope for tying knots. It's so frayed and little that the Gamemaker's don't see it as any kind of a threat. Lillian offered to give me a kiss to bring into the games, but I think she's just jealous since I haven't kissed her yet like I kissed you." He chuckled with a playful wink, causing Jay to make a gagging noise and Beata's face crumple up in disgust. " Oh come on Jay, like you're one to talk! During your first games, the Gamemaker's made cold water fall on yours and Abigail's heads when you two got too caught up in kissing." He scoffed.

" That was different. I wasn't trying to manipulate her for another kiss." Jay pointed out, pausing to give Echo a look to challenge him to prove him wrong. " When I wanted a kiss from Abigail, I took it eve when she didn't want me to. I didn't pull this other woman crap."

" Are you trying to manipulate me?" Beata exclaimed as she glared at Echo who shot Jay an angry look, instantly letting Echo know that any shot of a kiss in the near future was shot.

" No, I would never do that to you sweetling. Now can we get back to the matter at hand? What are you doing exactly with all of our supplies and these packs?" Echo asked nervously, trying to recover himself from Jay's blunder and praying he could prove to Beata that he really wasn't trying to manipulate her into a kiss.

Jay sighed and closed the last pack, but smiled a bit, proud of himself. " Well since we got seven packs, I figured we could ration the food for a week by dividing it all easily into the seven days to begin with. We've got a lot of containers, dried fruit, nuts and some smoked meats, but I still think it would be wise to set traps, fish, gather and hunt along our ways. We really have no idea how long these games are going to last and I'd rather not know what it feels like to starve when food is so plentiful. " Jay explained, watching as Jay and Beata nodded in eager agreement, letting him know that he could continue on with more.

" We got quite a few bandages, iodine drops, salves and pills for various things so we should be good medically. Also like hunting though, I'd like to pick some plants for medicinal uses if we can, like for tracker jacket stings and mint leaves to help hold off hunger. We've got a ton of weapons so what we can't carry will be hid in these packs as well. Echo even got a few lovely items such as an iron cooking pot and I think that should be left out of the packs as well, it saves space in the bags and can be used to hold whatever we collect along the way." He suggested, wondering if he was sounding too bossy and they thought he was taking too much control.

Echo seemed to really agree with him and even smiled a bit. " Is the pot just in case you come across a lovely goddess from one?" He asked jokingly, referring to the first tribute that Jay had killed in his first games.

Jay couldn't help but laugh. " If she so happens to come along and get in my way with the pot in my hand, then who am I not to give her the same farewell I gave her brother? It's what her family would want I'm sure, for the two of them to be immortalized as murdered by the same person in the same way, years apart." He joked with a somewhat smug smile as he stood up and stretched.

" Well then, with that lovely idea in mind, let's get our weapons divided up." Echo said clapping his hands together happily as he admired the small arsenal they had acquired. This was the part he was actually excited about, seeing what weapons he'd get to claim as his own for the duration of the games.

It took them a few minutes to get it all figure out on who was going to get what item with very little disagreement or fighting between them. Jay got the copper cooking pot, several knives stuffed in his pants or taped to his chest, stomach with medical tape, the spear, bow and arrows and a small axe. He also volunteered to carry four of the packs himself even though it was a bit awkward on his back. Jay once more was acting like a drill sergeant, but neither of the two wanted to argue with him about it because it wasn't like training and was just a fight, it was life or death in the arena.

Echo was happy to see a small trident, small enough to be hidden in a pack or in his case, the waist of his pants. Echo took a few knives as well, figuring they could come in handy at some other point and all the bombs they had collected. He was amazed to see the flash and the foul smelling smoke bombs, but was excited because he knew how to use them better than anything else. The two had decided however to put Beata in charge of the medical and emergency supplies so she got one pack while Echo got two. The boys also agreed that Beata didn't need to fight that much since it was still early on and she wouldn't be in much danger with them so she was given a few knives just in case and was in charge of carrying a sword for the two boys to be able to grab if needed in a fight which suited Beata just fine.

When the extra weapons were stashed in the other packs, the three started to grow restless, knowing they had been in the one spot for far too long. " We have a couple of filled water bottles, but we need a source of water to be safe and know where to look for game." Echo told them as he looked to the sky, seeing it was about noon so they only had a few more hours of sunlight left. " We need to at least try and find water so we don't go through all our water fast and our mentors don't have to waste any of our resources on something we can find here." He said, heaving on his backpacks.

" I think that's a good idea too. If we find a water source, there will be plants there we can eat as well, like katniss and the mud will make tracking easier too as well as game really doesn't stray too far from a good water source if it can help it." Jay agreed as he slung his packs on his back, ignoring the awkward bulkiness.

" Which way should we head?" Beata asked as she looked around them, having no idea where they should head since the trees all looked the same to her an she had forgotten which direction she had come to the spot from. She had been surprised that no one had stumbled on them and there weren't many signs of animals except for strange little black and white birds that zoomed through the air or hopped from branch to branch, singing beautiful tunes.

" I say we continue going straight, the way we came. Perhaps there's some sort of a clearing at the edge of the woods to try and build a temporary camp for the night. If we see some sign of animal activity or life, we'll head in that direction, but I don't think we should try and set up camp any time after dusk if we want a fire." Jay said as he started to walk forward.

" Beata you'll walk in the middle of us just to be safe." Echo told her as he motioned for her to walk ahead of him. He figured that if someone tried to ambush them, Beata would be safer in the middle.

Beata was hesitant and a skeptical scowl returned to her face. " If I catch your eyes below my waist, I will not hesitate to slap you Echo, believe you me." She hissed, fully intending to periodically turn around and check where his eyes wondered.

Echo couldn't help the cocky smile that crossed his face. " Is that a promise?" He cooed making her roll her eyes and march ahead of him to catch up with Jay. He couldn't help but feel a bit proud of himself for teasing her so easily.

Echo laughed and followed behind them, making Jay laugh a bit himself. " Don't we make a fine group? I'm the mockingjay chick and you two are the lovebirds. Soon they'll be making pins with us on them instead of just mockinjays!" Jay told them jokingly.

" Oh I would pay big bucks for that! Naturally us lovebirds will be overlooking the little baby mockingjay, you know trying to protect our youngest companion." Echo teased. He actually didn't know how old Beata was and he knew Jay was a little less than a year younger than him, but he liked to give him a hard time.

Jay laughed a bit more. " Don't you know that I'm actually older? Those of us from twelve age faster, especially when we've already been here before. I may not have worked in the mines yet, but I bet I'm in my twenties by now." He teased back.

" What and us fishermen don't age as quickly? Don't you think it's tough working on those fishing rigs or on the beaches?" Echo challenged.

" Eh, I think that it is tough working in four, but not enough to age you as quickly since every night you get to go to bed with a belly full of food." Jay pointed out with a small shrug.

" Oh yeah there is that…" He agreed, trailing off and pausing along with the other two, his mind working slowly to process what his eyes telling him.

" Oh. Crap." Beata whispered as her jaw dropped. They were almost out of the trees and right in front of them was a white expanse and it made her heart drop. If she'd had any hope of the three of them being able to make it out of the games, this just killed it.

" Can you say we're screwed?" Echo whispered with a low whisper, fighting the urge to pull his hair out in frustration. It was just like the Gamemaker's to make them think one thing about the arena only to find another thing awaiting them and the climate and layout were no different. They were prepared for a lot, but the artic temperature before them wasn't on their check list of things they could handle with their limited supplies.

" We can make this work… Beata, Echo, get out all the water bottles, the iodine and some of the containers with tight lids. We're going to make ourselves some water." Jay said optimistically, smiling as he looked at the frozen land that had a nice layer of untouched snow on it.

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><p><strong><em>No Lillian this time, but please let me know your opinions on who should be her father still and thank you PR for your vote!<em>**


	16. Chapter 16 : The Lies that Bind

Chapter 16 – The Lies that Bind

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><p>Finnick stood outside of the district four area talking with one of the younger mentors named Reef, waiting for Lillian to pass by him again on her way back to twelve with all her things. Reef was anxious to send something to Echo and Jay since they had reached the arctic tundra portion of the arena and were ill prepared for it, but Finnick told him to wait. There really was no need to send them anything just yet, because the two boys were doing well so far on their own and didn't necessarily have to push on into the freezing climate if they so wished. Finnick felt like his head was starting to throb however as the Reef got more and more adamant, obviously not willing to give up the argument.<p>

" They're at the edge of the tundra and one of the sponsors is pushing us to send them at least a tent. We can't make the sponsor's mad and can't keep ignoring them." Reef pushed, positive that he was making the right choice.

" Reef do whatever you want! You're using an unnecessary resource, but go ahead and send them a stupid tent." He told the young mentor exasperated and at wits end. Finnick really wasn't in the mood to deal with such a trivial problem when Lillian was so close at hand and her father was still unknown. He knew that if Katniss knew Snow had kept her daughter from her all those years and still had Gale, she would be all for the Doctor's idea of rebellion.

Reef looked pleased and turned to leave, able to tell that Finnick was about to lose it. Finnick had been about three seconds from strangling Reef, but it was at that moment that Lillian came back, followed by some very odd looking people with pink, blue and purple skin. Finnick did his best to recompose himself and stepped in her path, an urgent look on his face. Finnick couldn't think of a worst scenario for the games and things just kept getting worse by the second.

" We need to speak Lillian Hawthorne." He whispered in a tone that let her know there wasn't an option to turn him down. He wasn't just going to let her act like everything was normal and nothing had happened earlier.

Lillian smiled and nodded, turning back to her followers and telling them she'd meet them in her room. Once the hall was clear, she looked back up to Finnick. " What is it I can do for you Mr. Odair? As your future daughter-in-law, I just want to do what I can to help you and Mrs. Odair." She told him in her usual chipper voice, motioning for him to move with her to sit on a white bench by a window.

" There's something you should know about Katniss Lillian. I'm sure you've heard a great many things about her, but not all of them are true, she's not always like her old self. She is a little unstable, just like my wife, Annie, but Katniss doesn't have a way to handle it like Annie. There are certain things that throw her off and set her back in the wonderful progress she's been making and I'm afraid, along with Peeta, that there are some things that might permanently reverse her healing." He sighed as he sat beside her and gave her a serious look.

" I know, my grandfather warned me that Annie and Katniss were still delicate, especially with Jay and Echo in the games. I've been instructed to use the utmost discretion when in the same room as them." She explained as she looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap.

Finnick couldn't help but feel a little thankful for Snow's warning to Lillian. " Yes, well that was rather kind of him. I just ask that you not mention your father or your last name around either one of them, especially Katniss." He told her with a small sigh, not really sure how else to explain it to her.

Being able to see her in the sunlight, Finnick really took the time to look at her. She had blonde hair like Peeta, but her eyes were grey eyes looked just like Gale's. Her facial features look distinctly like Katniss mixed with a little of Peeta and some of Gale though, the way she smiled and it looked rare and lit her entire face up even though she never seemed to stop smiling, a very unique feature of just her own. She was kind and gentle like Peeta but her build reminded him of a feminine version of Gale. As far as he could tell, she looked too much like Gale and Peeta and it was impossible to tell who her father was based on looks alone.

" Oh well I won't of course! I promise!" She told him sincerely, looking up at him with honest eyes. " I would never want to distress them!"

He couldn't help but smile a little. She looked so sweet and innocent in that moment. _' There's no way this charming girl from Katniss or Gale, Peeta maybe, but never Katniss or Gale!'_ He thought with a small, internal laugh. " Well then Lillian, I believe I'm keeping you from your duties." He said, rising to his feet and offering a hand to help her up.

She accepted his help up graciously and linked arms with him, letting Finnick lead her back to the district twelve area. " Thank you for the warning. It would have been very bad to make a blunder so big in front of your wife. Not a very good first impression of me outside of the capitol events since I've yet to meet her outside of the parties for Jay or Echo." She said with a small laugh, completely at ease.

Finnick laughed a bit and agreed. " Yes, well my wife will be a bit difficult to win over unfortunately. Echo is her pride and joy, she loves him very much and is picky about the girls he's tried to date, I can only imagine how she'll be with you, especially now that she's pregnant again. My feeling is if you two love each other, more power to you two and welcome to the family." He told her as he linked her arm with his. He did like Lillian, there was just that sweet and innocent feel and look to her that reminded him of the glass dolls he often saw in capitol homes during his days as an entertainer to the rich, powerful and secretive. She was charismatic though and charming, just also ways so nice so it was impossible to be mean to her or think ill of her.

Lillian laughed a bit and blushed some. " Well I welcome any challenges for Echo and I thank you for your support of our unusual situation." She told him, stepping up on her tiptoes to kiss Finnick's cheek lightly. When she did, she felt the bulky object in her pocket rub against her, reminding her of her peace offerings that had gone ahead of her. " Some friends of mine sent me with cookies and a cake for everyone, to celebrate the survival of Echo, Jay and Beata through the first night, I hope you and Mrs. Odair will enjoy these." She told him as they reached the door for district twelve and she held out a couple of cookies wrapped in a glittery, white cloth.

Jay stopped her and turned her around to face him, moving her so fast that she dropped the cookies. " We haven't gotten to the night yet… How do you know they'll survive?" He demanded. He had a good feeling that he knew the answer, but he didn't want to think about it too much because it terrified him.

" Do you think Snow will let the three of them die the first night? They're the favorites for the games and he thinks of Jay and Echo as his grandchildren too, part of his family. Snow does whatever it takes to protect his family, not matter what he has to do. He'll sooner kill off everyone else in those games before he lets Jay and Echo die." She told him softly, keeping her eyes locked on his. " Trust me, he's doing all he can to make sure they make it alive but no one else can know."

Finnick was stunned still despite it being his fear she had confirmed unknowingly, his mind working slowly to slowly comprehending what she was telling him. " Is that what Snow's done to you?" He whispered.

She didn't even have to answer him, her wide eyes and slowly fading smile telling him everything he needed to know about her and the power Snow had had over her. His heart sank and he dropped his gaze, feeling bad for her, slowly releasing his grip on her. " You don't know what Snow's capable of. It's best not to say anything and just be grateful that he's working to keep your son alive. He could either have them killed now or do like he did to me and take them away from their families. Don't look this gift horse in the mouth." She told him before plastering a smile on and barging through the doors.

Lillian slipped right by all the district twelve mentors, Annie and the Doctor , going straight into the kitchen to check on her packages. She was startled by Katniss who was staring at a silver platter of cookies. She tried to keep from showing her surprise as she moved closer to admire the treats she had been sent with. " More cookies and cakes as well as breads can be sent whenever we want. I'm very close to an amazing baker and he's all too willing to help with any sweet tooth's anyone here might have." She told Katniss, oblivious to the look of confusion and rage on Katniss' face.

" Where did you get these?" Katniss demanded softly, refusing to look up from the innocent cookies.

Lillian shrugged and moved to open a box, carefully taking out the baked goods to set on various plates and platters. " Like I said, I know a baker. Him and his wife have a bakery called ' Mellark's Baked Goods', just a little shop that's not very well known. It's not a very original shop name, but it works and keeps his wife from complaining from time to time." She explained with a small smile.

Katniss' face paled instantly, her worst fears coming to life. She grabbed Lillian by her shoulders, forcing Lillian to face her as her face went from scared to a purely wild look . " Mellark? Are you sure? Like M-E-L-L-A-R-K?" She insisted, shaking Lillian a little bit, even going so far as to spell out the name for certainty.

" Y-yes. There's Mr. Mellark, Mrs. Mellark and their two sons Rye and Liam." Lillian stammered, actually afraid of the woman in front of her.

" How do you know them?" Katniss whispered, releasing her grip on Lillian as if she'd been shocked. It had slowly sunk into her that Peeta's family wasn't dead. He wasn't alone after all, even his awful mother had survived.

" They live with my father and I in one of the private wings of Snow's mansion. Mr. Mellark teaches me to bake, tells me about his old life and says I remind him of his youngest son who died in the second rebellion. Even his wife makes an effort to be nice to me and gives me treats and gifts quite often and their two sons like to help me with decorating the cakes and cookies." Lillian whispered nervously. She didn't like talking about her special connection to the Mellark's, it made her uneasy for someone else rather than Snow or her father to know about her only friends.

Katniss was silent and Lillian took a deep breath, waiting for her to freak out on her some more. At that moment the Doctor stepped in and gave them a small, apologetic smile and possibly saving the last of Lillian's sanity. " Sorry to interrupt, but they need you out there. A mentor from four wants to send in a tent and they need your vote. All the other mentors are up as well so they want to talk about what to do about Jaide." He told Katniss as he crossed the room to stand by Lillian.

Katniss let out an annoyed huff before looking at Lillian one last time. " This conversation isn't over, but don't mention a thing about the Mellark's to Peeta." She growled before storming out of the room.

" Isn't she a ray of sunshine?" The Doctor asked with a small laugh after a few seconds had passed.

" She's just worried like Finnick and Peeta. I'm sure that Peeta wouldn't like to know there are other's here in the capitol that share his name. Everyone's just worried I'm going to spill one secret or another I guess." Lillian explained softly as she turned her back to him to continue unloading the baked goods.

The Doctor started to help her dish up the food and set it out in colorful arrays. " Well if I was them I would skeptical or afraid too, this President Snow hasn't done a great job earning the trust of the people and I've heard stories of him manipulating people and having spies all around." He commented, his unusual accent making Lillian smile even more then when she heard a particularly strong capitol accent.

She stopped arranging the flower cookies on a tray and just stared down at them. " He's a good man in some ways and not others. My great-grandfather is a man who wants things a particular way, his way. He's not even my grandfather, I'm in no way related to him, but he took me in as a child when my parents abandoned me. He brought me companions though, people to raise me to be a good person and keep me entertained. Without Snow, I would have no family and I'm eternally grateful to him." She whispered.

" You were abandoned? Do you know who your parents are?" The Doctor asked sympathetically. He had been under the impression that she was the daughter of Snow's only granddaughter so he was surprised and wondered if he was the only one who knew the truth aside from her and Snow.

" Yes." Lillian answered in an expressionless voice, answering both questions with one simple word. " I don't want to talk about my parents however." She said, dismissing it with a shake of her head. She grabbed a couple plates and platters of cookies and headed out to where the mentors were having a heated argument over a tent. She slipped in, putting the cookies down before going back to her room. She could feel the Doctor's eyes as he watched her suspiciously and it made her nervous.

She tried to ignore him as she shut the door behind her and was left alone with her special style team. She didn't say anything to them though and just went to a giant screen in the room, turning it on. Snow sat on the T.V. smiling proudly which made her stomach heave violently. " Grandfather." She whispered, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.

" Lillian, my little princess, how you never cease to amaze me. I take it you've done what you've been asked of?" He asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

It took Lillian a moment to find her voice, hating that she was able to answer him positively. " Y-yes. I have told Peeta Mellark that my name is Lillian Hawthorne and my father is Gale Hawthorne. I have also told Katniss Mellark about the Mellark's and their bakery." She answered.

" Good. You have done well petal. Do you believe they will tell each other your little secrets?"

" No grandfather."

" Excellent. I have another job for you now." He told her with a devilish grin.

Lillian's heart started racing and she felt shaky. Whenever Snow said he had a job for her, it was usually always terrible. His jobs mainly consisted of spying or dropping hint bombs that something secretive wasn't such a secret anymore, but they made her feel disgusting all the same. She didn't have a choice in the matter of whether or not she did the jobs, if she refused any, she took it out on one of the Mellark's or her father. " Whatever it is, I am at your full services." She told him, trying to sound braver and more up for whatever challenge he was about to lay before her.

" I want you to tell Peeta Mellark that you are his daughter, but not a word of it to Katniss of it. To Katniss, you are simple to say one thing to her. You are so say, ' he says about time Catnip' and nothing else." He ordered and before she could even react, the screen went black.

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><p><em><strong>Sorry this took so long, had quite a bit going on and didn't want to just rush through this. Won't be updating again until 26 probably because 2/5 will be spent watching the super bowl (go Patriots!)**_


	17. Chapter 17 : Daddy Drama

Chapter 17 – Daddy Drama

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><p>The Doctor stood in front of one of the screens, watching as a silver parachute dropped a tent on Beata, Echo and Jay. They seemed pleased by it, having just filled up several containers with snow and treating them to be drinkable when they were melted. The Doctor was at least happy to know that Beata was in such capable hands and the boys really were doing everything they could to keep her safe.<p>

" Jay and Echo will take care of her." Katniss told him softly as she walked up beside him, crossing her arms over her chest as she was done arguing with the other mentors.

" That I don't doubt, but Beata's strong and independent, she might not always accept their help." He told her with a soft laugh. " So much her mother's daughter that it's almost not even funny… Well _almost_."

Katniss took in a sharp breath and tried to keep normal. " Is her mother proud of her?" She asked softly, watching Beata and Jay as Jay tried to show her how to set a snare and Echo set up the tent. She couldn't help but envy Beata's mom, being able to raise her daughter and see her grow into a beautiful young woman. Katniss hadn't been disappointed when Jay had been a boy, but she had missed the opportunities that Leta had offered by being a girl. She had also imagined Peeta being the father of little girls and she knew how much it had meant to him to have that little girl first.

" Who, Donna? Donna couldn't be prouder of her. Donna got married later in life and her and her husband felt too old to be having a baby so they adopted Beata when she was four." The Doctor told her with a grin. " Donna's been a terrific mom surprisingly. Beata spends a lot of time with her grandmother and great-grandfather however so she grew up with stories about me and she's so much like her mother, she thinks she can boss me around. She even loves to call me ' Space Man' from time to time." He added with more laughing.

" Donna is a very lucky woman then. It's a sad thing to lose ones daughter so I hope for her sake a rule twist comes in in Beata's favor." Katniss told him honestly.

" Yes, it is a shame to lose a child, but especially a daughter, even more so when they're you're oldest or only child. There's just something so sweet and innocent about daughters, it's even more of a shame to lose them." The Doctor agreed, his smile instantly disappearing.

Katniss was surprised as she studied his face and saw genuine sadness. " You've lost a child Doctor?" She whispered breathlessly. She didn't see the Doctor as the type to have children. He seemed like a good hearted man, but she just couldn't see him actually taking an interest in a woman long enough to start a family with them.

" Yes. What feels like a long time ago, but rather far into the future, I had my DNA stolen and used to clone a soldier for a senseless battle. Her name was Jenny and she was just a child, not even a few days old despite the fact that biologically and physically she was in her twenties at least… She was killed protecting me when I would have survived. I feel like she's still out there though, I look for her even though I held her when her hearts stopped beating." He explained, his whole body stiff and his breathing sounded forced. He had a distant look in his eyes and it was very clear that Jenny had mean a great deal to him and he still hadn't moved on completely from her death.

" I know the feeling." She assured him. " I was eighteen when I had my daughter, Leta. She saved Peeta's life and she meant the world to me. When she was about six months old, the rebellion Peeta and I were a part of lost its fight against Snow and Peeta and I were placed at the mercy of Snow for around a year. When Leta was a year and a half, Peeta and I were summoned to the capitol and while there, we were told that to make sure we never forgot how dangerous a rebellion was, we were going to lose two dear things." Katniss explained, turning her gaze to the monitors of Jay hunting, feeling the need to explain everything to the Doctor.

" Snow didn't tell us what was being taken, but rather sent us to a guest room in his mansion. That night peacekeeper's stormed our room and tried to take Leta. Peeta and I were stronger though and managed to overtake them so I ran. I tried to hide, but Snow's men found us and I was forced to face Snow with Leta screaming in my arms. Snow was angry and told me I was the key to keeping Panem together and he didn't need any loose ends. He snatched Leta from my arms and shoved her into a peacekeeper's arms, ordering them away. I was restrained and couldn't get away as I watched a complete stranger carry off my baby that was screaming for me. Snow simply told me her death would be quick like my dear friend Glae's and had me knock unconscious…" She trailed off, tears starting to slip from her eyes.

Peeta had seen Katniss' expression change to sadness and had walked over to her, catching the end of the conversation. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his shoulder. " Leta was a special girl. I had been hijacked by the capitol, had a type of venom used to ruin every memory of Katniss I ever had that was good. I even tried to strangle her among other things… I couldn't be around her for very long before the urge to kill her became too strong." He explained with a small, disgusted sigh, hating that part of his old self. " I had gone to the hospital for a regular checkup when I heard Katniss screams of pain. It started to spark memories and I really worried for her. I went running towards the scream and pulled back a curtain just in time to see Leta born. No one was happy to see me and they tried to push me away, but seeing the baby wrapped in Katniss' arms protectively, I remembered everything and I dropped to my knees, begging for her forgiveness."

The Doctor didn't say anything and took a deep breath. " That's why you two don't want to assist me? Because you've already lost so much, you lost your daughter because you failed before. You've already faced Snow's wrath and don't want to face it again for fear of Jay…" He muttered, putting two and two together at last, watching as Peeta just simply nodded.

Lillian had felt butterflies going crazy in her stomach as she approached Katniss, Peeta and the Doctor. She had done many despicable things for Snow, but this was the lowest. She was trembling and took a shaky deep breath before stopping next to the Doctor. " I'm sorry to be interrupting, but I need a moment of your time." She whispered, wishing she could be braver.

" Lillian, now's not a good time." Peeta told her, hoping that Katniss had yet to see the resemblance between herself and Lillian.

" I'm sorry Mr. Mellark, but this can't wait. I really need to talk to you." She told him as firmly as she could even though her voice showed her fear and dread.

Katniss sniffled a bit and pulled back from Peeta, wiping her eyes. " I need something to eat and need to check on the sponsor's list. I'll let you two talk without me." She whispered before kissing Peeta's cheek lightly, shooting Lillian a warning look and walking over to the other mentors.

" Lillian, whatever it is, please just spit it out." Peeta sighed, sounding annoyed. She casted a quick look to the Doctor, but Peeta shook his head. " Honestly, anything you can say to me, you can say in front of him."

Lillian took a deep breath and balled her hands into fists at her sides, dropping her gaze to the ground. " Are you sure, this is an important thing." She mumbled.

" Just spit it out Lillian." Peeta barked softly.

Lillian took another deep breath and focused on his face. She knew he was going to regret her telling him to his face in front of the Doctor, but she had no other option. " Peeta… My father isn't Gale Hawthorne. He raised me, but I'm not his biologically." She started, trying to build up some more confidence.

" So? What does this have to do with me?" He asked rolling his eyes. He usually wasn't so low on patience or easily annoyed, but when Katniss cried or he talked about Leta, it put him in a bad mood and on edge.

The Doctor looked between the two and quickly caught on. His eyes went wide and he struggled for words. " Uh Peeta… This might not be the best place…" He said nervously as he tried to usher them towards the kitchen, but neither would budge.

" No, just let her say it, it can't be that bad." Peeta challenged, his eyes never leaving Lillian.

Lillian decided that the best way to tell him was to just blurt it out. The Doctor tried to reason with Peeta, but Lillian wouldn't let him say two words. " Peeta, my real name is Leta Everdeen. I'm not Gale Hawthorne's daughter, I'm actually-"

" You're mine." Peeta finished, having interrupted her when he'd seen where she was taking it. His face paled and he felt like he needed to sit down, but he just gawked at the girl before him.

" Uh yes." She told him with a small blush, relieved a little that he had picked it up rather quickly and she hadn't had to be the one to tell him the full truth on his own.

Peeta looked like he was going to be sick and inside he was panicking. The Doctor looked around and saw that the others were distracted by Annie's sudden dash from the room and Finnick's hurry to catch up with her and saw the perfect opportunity. He forced the two into the empty kitchen and Peeta took an uneasy seat and Lillian just stood by a counter.

" Lillian why are you telling Peeta this now?" The Doctor asked suspiciously as he eyes her with some confusion. He couldn't help but wonder if she was the same girl who just minutes before had said she hadn't wanted to talk about her parents.

" I was thinking Doctor, thanks to our little conversation. I have always liked Peeta and I see no harm in telling him the truth." She lied with a shrug. She hated how good she was at lying and regretted all the practice she'd had to have.

Peeta ran his fingers through his hair as he watched her, still not completely sure if he could trust her or not. She looked hardly anything like him, he had always imagined Leta looking more like him. Lillian could see disappointment in his face and sighed. She moved over to a shiny platter and took out contacts from her eyes.

" My eyesight is terrible and I refuse to let the doctors work on my eyes. Snow doesn't approve of glasses so I'm stuck wearing contacts that are the same color as my fathers to keep from raising suspicion." She explained before looking back at him.

Peeta's breath caught in his throat as he looked at her eyes, seeing the same shade of blue he saw in the mirror every morning looking back at him from a complete stranger. There really wasn't a way for him to deny her being his daughter, not with those eyes. " Why do you say your name is Everdeen? It should be Mellark." He told her softly as it started to sink in slowly.

" I said that was my given name, but it's not the name I go by. I prefer Lillian Hawthorne." She told Peeta firmly with a bitter edge to her voice.

Peeta was silent for a moment as he fought to keep his temper under control. " You'd rather be Lillian Hawthorne than Leta Everdeen-Mellark?" He whispered through clenched teeth. Gale had taken so much from him in the past and he didn't like the idea that he had stolen his daughter as well.

" Lillian, think this through before you answer." The Doctor urged as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Lillian took a deep breath and shook her head. " To be honest Mr. Mellark, I was raised as Lillian Hawthorne, Gale has been the only father I've ever known and soon I'll be Lillian Odair. It doesn't matter what my given name is, I've just always been called Lillian and why wouldn't I want the name of the man who actually took the time to raise me and sacrificed so much for me? You and Katniss have done nothing in my life aside from bring me into this world, it's the least I can do to pay back my father." She challenged with a fierce look, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Peeta ran his hand through his hair, fighting the urge to get upset and tell her that Hawthorne had had no right to raise her and that Echo and her weren't going to get married. The Doctor could tell it was too much and let out a small sigh. " Lillian, why don't you go and send Finnick back here and see if you can help anyone out there?" He suggested as he released his grip on Lillian.

" Very well… If it's any consolation Mr. Mellark, my father raised me with wonderful, good tales of yourself and Katniss so I wouldn't hate the two of you so much for what you'd done to me when I was little." Lillian whispered as she stopped by Peeta for a brief moment. " He even sang me ' Safe and Sound' when I couldn't sleep or was terrified, he said you used to sing it to me." With that she left the room.

The Doctor and Peeta were silent for a few minutes and when the Doctor tried to speak, Peeta held up a hand to silence him. " I just want to be alone. She had a reason to drop this bomb, I don't know what it is, but I don't want to discuss theories. I'm not telling Katniss and would appreciate your silence on this matter as well." Peeta told the Doctor before standing up and leaving as well, not even bothering to wait for Finnick.

The Doctor sighed heavily and shook his head. " Humans… Such a funny race." He muttered, grabbing a cookie and going back out to where all the screens were just in time to see everyone jump to their feet and hear Katniss' scream. The careers had found Beata, Jay and Echo, ambushing them and were taking them back to their camp instead of flat out killing him on the spot.

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><p><em><strong>Sorry it took so long to get this done. Next chapter will be more thrilling, this was just my way of dealing with the humiliating game the New England Patriots played at the Super Bowl...<strong>_


	18. Chapter 18 : Song for the Dying

Chapter 18 – A Song for the Dying

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><p>Jay sighed as Echo and Beata finished hiding their packs in the surroundings tree. He and Beata had gone hunting and managed to get a couple of birds and a few rabbits so they were going to be able to eat fresh meat their first night, so while he'd cleaned their kills, Echo had enlisted Beata's help with hiding their supplies. He wanted to fish in the river since it had been teeming with life, but hadn't found any hooks in their things, the one thing they seemed to be lacking. He'd been forced to go back to camp with Beata so he could make some hooks and clean their kills. It hadn't taken him long at all to clean the kills so he'd been able to get to making hooks sooner than he'd anticipated.<p>

He hummed a tune from his childhood as he took some of their thick metal coils and expertly curved and sharpened them into perfect hooks. He tossed them into a small plastic container as soon as he was done, he wanted to make as many as he possibly could before it got too dark and they had to put out the fire. He didn't even look up from his work when Beata sat beside him, obviously done with helping Echo.

" What's that song you're humming?" She asked curiously as she watched his fingers work with the metal. He worked as if it was second nature to him and he did it all the time, something she didn't understand since she'd heard he'd come from a district that didn't get to fish.

" It's a song called ' Safe and Sound', my father used to sing it to me when I was little. He's not exactly the best singer, that's my mom's claim to fame I suppose, but it always made me feel better and cleared my head." He told her with a small smile, not stopping his hook making.

" That sounds sweet… Are there words to it?" She asked curiously, really liking the tune.

Jay smirked and nodded. " Yes, it's an old song from the mountains of district twelve. It's simple and easy to learn." He told her as he turned to look at her, pausing his work for the moment.

She looked at him expectantly, so he took a deep breath, forgetting about the camera's watching them.

" _I remember tears streaming down your face  
>When I said, I'll never let you go<br>When all those shadows almost killed your light  
>I remember you said, Don't leave me here alone<br>But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

Just close your eyes  
>The sun is going down<br>You'll be alright  
>No one can hurt you now<br>Come morning light  
>You and I'll be safe and sound<p>

Don't you dare look out your window darling  
>Everything's on fire<br>The war outside our door keeps raging on  
>Hold onto this lullaby<br>Even when the music's gone

Just close your eyes  
>The sun is going down<br>You'll be alright  
>No one can hurt you now<br>Come morning light  
>You and I'll be safe and sound<p>

Just close your eyes  
>You'll be alright<br>Come morning light,  
>You and I'll be safe and sound"<p>

Beata was silent as he sang, her eyes never leaving his as he sang. All the birds around them fell silent and even Echo stopped working to listen to Jay. Beata wasn't sure what to make of the song, it was pretty, but also dark. It sounded like it was supposed to encourage someone and let them know that they could rest easily, but at the same time let them know that the world was crumbling around them.

" You sing like your mother." Echo told Jay with a small laugh as he joined them around the fire, smiling and breaking the silence. He was trying to lighten the mood a bit. As pretty as the song was, it was also dark too and hard a sad meaning behind it.

" Nah, she's prettier. The best singer in all of twelve… The only other singer I've ever heard of who could have matched her was my grandfather Everdeen." Jay said, shaking his head and resuming his work.

" Your grandfather can sing?" Beata inquired, having fun learning more about him.

" Yeah, I've heard all kinds of stories about his voice. When he sang the birds would stop to listen, picking his voice up and carrying it through the woods. My dad says that it was his voice that made my grandmother Everdeen fall in love with him. My grandfather Mellark actually loved my grandmother Everdeen, but she left her life of ease for a miner who could sing more beautifully than the birds. A lot of people mourned his untimely death and have said it's a shame the mines took his life, but at least he didn't have to see my mom in the games or deal with the rebellion…" He sighed. He rarely talked about his family since it was just his mom, dad, aunt Prim and grandmother Everdeen. His dads entire family had been killed in the bombing of twelve and his grandfather Everdeen had been killed in the mines of twelve when his mom had been a little girl.

" That's actually really sweet." Beata gushed softly, blushing some as her inner girl came out momentarily.

" I guess so." Jay shrugged. " My grandmother Everdeen refused my grandfather Mellark in their youth so their kids were naturally destined to fall in love. My dad came from a merchant's family, the youngest son of a baker and my mom was the oldest daughter of a miner and an apothecary's daughter. My grandfather Everdeen died when my mom and aunt Prim were just little girls so my grandmother struggled to cope with it, my mom having to have to step up to provide for the three of them."

Beata still found it sweet, but looked to Echo who was checking on their cooking meat. " What about you Echo, can you sing?"

Echo thought for a moment before shrugging. " Yeah I can sing a little bit. I'm nowhere near as good as Jay, but good enough to not get told to shut up."

" Can I hear you sing?" Beata asked eagerly as she leaned towards him more, interested in actually hearing him.

A smile played on the edges of his lips as he nodded. " Alright, I'll teach you a song my mom taught me when I was little." He told her as he leaned forward, capturing her hands in his. He had a feeling the audience was going to eat it up, especially when he looked deeply into her eyes.

" _Out across cities I see buildings turn into piles  
>and watch the world in wonder, as mountains turn into tiles<br>and trees losing their leaves and their faces becoming tired  
>I wish I could discover something that doesn't expire<br>come stumble me_

take me river, carry me far  
>lead me river, like a mother<br>take me over to somewhere unknown  
>put me in the undertow<p>

such are the things that make a kingdom rumble and shatter  
>the same dynamic that another day would never matter<br>it really just depends on who's giving and who's receiving  
>and things that don't make sense are always a little deceiving<br>come and humble me

take me river, carry me far  
>lead me river, like a mother<br>take me over to somewhere unknown  
>put me in the undertow<p>

I wanna go where you're going  
>a follower, following<br>changing, but never changed  
>claiming, but never claimed<p>

take me river, carry me far  
>lead me river, like a mother<br>take me over to somewhere unknown  
>put me in the undertow<p>

take me river, carry me far  
>lead me river, like a mother<br>take me over to somewhere unknown  
>put me in the undertow."<p>

Beata had to admit that he wasn't as good as Jay, but Echo was still wonderful. The song was just as beautiful to her and from what she'd heard of district four, it seemed to fit perfectly. Once more though the beautiful song had a sad hint to it and she thought about how it was probably written during a dark time like she had heard the mentor's saying they were just recovering from.

"Are those about the rebellion?" She asked softly. The stories of the last two rebellions weighed heavily on her mind as did the questions she hadn't been able to ask of the mentors. She figured that if she was going to help with the Doctor's cause, she was going to need to know more. She had no idea how she could help save the people of Panem from the Hunger Games when she had no idea how the other two rebellions had worked or what had let to their ultimate failures. " If I ask you two a question about the rebellions, will you answer me honestly?" She whispered, dropping her gaze.

The two boys fell silent as if they knew her questions about the rebellion were going to be touchy. They were sure the camera's had been moved elsewhere already, not wanting to upset the delicate capitol people by having such a serious subject during the games as ironic as it sounded. The people were alright with watching them die, but once you introduced a subject like the rebellion, they wanted no more to do with it. It was as if the capitol wanted to forget all about the rebellions aside from when they called upon the districts to offer up their children to be murdered for their entertainment.

Echo was the one to break the silence however as he released her hands and dropped his gaze. " Are you really sure that's what you want to talk about Beata?" He asked her softly, just wanting to be positive before they talked about anything more to do with the rebellion. The look on the boys' faces had gone so serious one might have thought someone had died right in front of them at that moment.

Beata couldn't swallow the lump in her throat and just nodded instead. She did want to know, but she wasn't sure where to start, that much was obvious to the two boys. Jay stood and stretched a bit and took a nervous deep breath. " Since this isn't really the night, I suppose we should keep alert and awake, all three of us so we might as well pass the time telling you why we're here." He told him without so much as a glance her way.

" Wait, how do you know it's not really night?" She asked confused. She was relieved that they were agreeing to talk with her about the rebellions, but she had no idea what made him think that it wasn't night since it was dark and the sun had set.

" Easy, we haven't heard the anthem and we haven't seen the pictures of the dead. In fact, if you look up, you can't see the moon or stars. Either those are some very dark clouds or they're messing with the lights." Echo explained as he pointed up to the stars, the first time she'd looked up since she'd ran from the cornucopia. " You'd know if it was night though, there would be no mistaking it. The temperature will probably drop a lot more and we'll hear less of the birds I'm sure. They can even sense this is a false night. As well as not enough time has passed for it to be night."

Beata nodded, still a bit confused, but she jumped up at the sound of a broken twig. Jay had his spear at the ready in an instant, pushing Beata behind him and Echo drew a sword, standing beside Jay, ready to fight. Beata blinked a bit and tried to calm herself down, telling herself it was nothing.

" It's a good thing that they haven't put the deaths up in the sky yet, it would be a shame to have to wait a whole day before putting your three faces up there. Would hate for the other poor tributes to think they still had to either find or fear the three twelves." A male voice snickered from within the shadows.

" Hate to disappoint you, but that's not going to be happening." Jay hissed back, searching the shadows desperately for the figure. The voice didn't seem to have a direction, it sounded like it was coming from all around them, maybe the voices owner was circling them?

" Oh but on the contrary…" The boy trailed off just as a net fell on Echo, Jay and Beata. " You two boys are just as arrogant as your parents, too much like Finnick and Katniss for your own goods."

The three struggled to get out of the net, but it was easier said than done. The nets edges were suddenly yanked, knocking the three of their feet, getting surprised noises out of them. Beata yelped and looked helplessly to Jay and Echo. Echo and Jay struggled to get free of the primitive net, but they couldn't which ticked them off to no end.

" What's wrong? Your fame and family ties not enough to save you two? You can't even protect one pathetic excuse for a girl?" A red head female, who Jay recognized from three taunted as she stepped out of the shadows and right in front of them. She had a tube in her hands and she looked absolutely wicked.

Echo glared up at the girl. " Let us go or you'll regret it." He growled, still tugging helplessly at the net, his heart breaking at the sight of tears in Beata's eyes.

" Nope, not gonna happen! We killed Sapphire just a bit ago and the other four tribute, whatever her name was, we'd like to finish off four and twelve tonight and getting T.A.R.D.I.S is a nice little bonus." She laughed.

Echo and Jay were both stunned. " You killed off both of them?" Jay choked out, watching as she loaded a dart in her little tube.

" Oh yes… The girl from four we killed at the cornucopia, she was pathetic, she had the guts to beg for her life like the pathetic little bug she was. Sapphire, well she was different, we let her help us set up camp and give us her personal expertise, but once her use had run out, it was off with her head, quite literally!" The girl explained with a witchy cackle.

" Got them!" Another boy shouted in the distance making Echo curse, guessing they'd found the packs in all their hiding places. He had been so sure that he'd hidden the bags so well, but obviously not well enough.

" Well then, it seems you three have been of all the use you possibly can so now we'll take you back to the career camp and have a little fun. We promised the others we'd find you and bring you back alive so that they can help us give the dear people of Panem a real show." The girl told them excitedly and started to drag the away in the net as if they weighed nothing. The other two boys jumped right in to help her, but they stayed more in the shadows so it was impossible to tell who they were.

Beata was really started to cry silently, unable to help herself as fear started to make her realize that she was in true danger. Echo wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him as best he could in the net as they were dragged along painfully, Jay stuck on top of them. " Shhh, don't cry Beata, please don't. It's going to be alright, Jay and I promised to save you and that's we're going to do." He told her softly as he took a deep breath. He had no idea what was going to happen, but he knew he and Jay at least had to keep Beata alive until much later on in the games for Snow's sake at least.

Beata sniffled and nodded, thinking his intentions were completely pure. " Thank you Echo." She whispered in a barely audible voice.

" Our pleasure." Echo whispered in response, looking to Jay urgently.

Jay wasn't looking to Echo however, he was admiring the birds overhead. At first glance he had assumed they'd been mockingjay's, they had been all around them since they had entered the trees so he hadn't looked too closely at them. They had the same basic shape, same size and even were the same colors, but now that he was really looking at them, he was noticing some big differences. These birds a sharper beak points, sharper looking claws and there seemed to be teeth on their beaks, razor sharp from the looks of it.

His brow furrowed as he tried to identify the breed, but he only had the chance to cry out a ' look out' before their eyes turned red and they started to drop from the sky and trees, aiming right for the two boys and girl who were dragging the three away from their base. Beata, Jay and Echo tried to curl up, the two boys covering Beata, but the birds didn't come near them. They could hear the other three screaming and crying out, the net falling loose, but it didn't matter since they were under attack by a large swarm of vicious birds.

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><p><strong><em>So incredibly sorry for not being able to update sooner! I've been getting ready to go to a Doctor Who convention in LA so I didn't have much time to write... I'll have another chapter or two up soon as well since I'll be participating in lobby-con... Please don't hate me!<em>**


	19. Chapter 19 : Hard to Accept

_**Sorry this is so short, I didn't have long to type it up since the convention is still going on, but by Tuesday or Wednesday, I should be able to get back to daily updates again, so please hang in there for me!**_

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><p>Chapter 19 – Hard to Accept<p>

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><p>The birds kept the attack up until there was only the girl making noise. Two cannons sounded, signaling the boys were dead. The birds stopped and one of them chirped causing all the other birds to let out another chirp before flying away. The girl whimpered and Jay was cautious as he climbed out of the net, helping Beata and Echo out. The three were cautious as they looked to the sky, waiting to see if the birds would attack them as well, but the birds were all scattered and had even started to sing the tune that Jay had sung earlier.<p>

Echo moved to stand over the girl and watched her thrash a bit, Beata wrapping her arms around Jay and burying her face in his shoulder, feeling nauseous from the sight of the poor thing on the ground and her two dead companions. " What should we do with this one?" Echo asked as he pushed her leg a bit, making her cry out again in obvious agony. " She's not in too great a shape, doubt she'll make it through the night…"

" What do you mean by that? We help her! There's no other option!" Beata exclaimed, turning her head a bit to glare at him. She may have just been afraid of the girl, but the doctor had taught her to even help her enemies, especially when they were as scared and tormented as the poor children in the arena with her.

" Beata be reasonable…" Jay whispered, his voice firm even without saying anything else.

" You can't just leave her to die!" Beata argued.

" You mean like she was going to do with us! If the careers had wanted us dead, they would have done it when they found us. The show she talked about was them torturing us and prolonging out death so that we begged for it. This is just payback." Echo snapped as he crossed his arms, all set to just leave her to suffer.

" That's cruel, just leaving her! Aren't you the one in training that said you were better than career tributes despite being from a career district?" Beata demanded stubbornly.

Echo didn't like having his words thrown back in his face and his cheeks had taken a slight red color from anger. " You're not understanding this Beata! Once again, not your world! There is no compassion here!" He told her, his voice rising slightly.

" Echo!" Jay exclaimed as Beata turned her face back into his shoulder and started trembling. " She's right, we can't just let her suffer a slow death. Besides, these two bodies need to be picked up so she needs to be dealt with now." He told Echo, his voice growing softer as he tightened his grip on Beata.

Echo took a few deep breathes and looked down at the feeble girl before him. The birds had done a number on her, she was bleeding and had some truly terrible gashes. In some places fat, muscle or bone were visible and other places she'd been nicked deep enough in vital places to make her look paler. He felt no guilt or sadness for the girl who was dying at his feet, he couldn't have even possibly cared less for the girl. Jay might mourn the girl, but certainly wouldn't and Beata might go into a depressed state since it was obvious that she was the first dying person she'd seen, at least in person.

Echo let out a huff and looked up at Jay, nodding in understanding. " I'll do it." He told him, making Jay sigh a bit.

" Come on…" Jay whispered, urging Beata back to their camp. He looked over his shoulder at Echo and looked like he was sorry for leaving him with the task of taking care of the girl and searching them. " Be thorough." He reminded Echo who just nodded.

" What's he doing?" Beata whispered as she tried to look back, but Jay tightened his grip on her and kept her facing ahead so she couldn't see Echo.

" Doesn't matter, you don't want to know." He told her before forcing her into the tent.

Echo squatted down beside the girl and examined her. " Seems the tables have been turned little girl. I don't know what those birds are or what set them off on you and your little buddies, but it's lucky for my brother, Beata and I. Sure you've caused me to have to yell and get angry at the girl I care deeply about, but I can explain to her about how things work so you may have helped her. I'm truly sorry to your family for your loss, but I'm not sorry you've met such an untimely end." He whispered as he grabbed a knife from his shoe. In all the chaos of being trapped in the net, he hadn't even thought of how heavily he and Jay were.

" I hope you find peace in knowing you've helped put me one step closer to at least one of my loves if not both…" He sighed, reaching forward with the knife and slitting her throat. She choked for a moment, but went still and silent. A cannon shot off again in the distance, letting him know he'd done his job.

He wasted no time with checking the three bodies for new weapons. He found some rope on one, long enough to tie all their packs together to drag back to camp. He gathered up the net and went off to the base where Beata and Jay were as quickly as possible. He heard the hovercraft but didn't look back at it, not wanting to see the bodies being lifted up into the air.

When he got back to the camp, he set everything down and looked at Echo who was staring into the fire. " They didn't have much on them, but I got a few more knives, a pack filled with food, fire starters and matches. The girl did have some darts and this nifty little tube made from some kind of thick plant, my guess is the darts either have something poisonous on the tips or are some kind of tranquilizer, but I'm glad we didn't have to find out." He sighed, dropping everything and moving to sit beside Jay.

Jay nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose, but groaned a bit, obviously forgetting that it was still broken. " It's amazing what those doctors and stylists can do…" He muttered as he shook his head some.

" Yeah… Can't even tell your nose is broken or that I have a black eye." Echo agreed. The doctors had taken a look at the two of them right after their private training session and had had to do some kind of work on Jay's nose and had put some kind of salve on Echo's eye. Neither boy had thought to question what the doctor's had done, they only cared that they looked injury free while being raised into the arena, none of the other tributes had known the extent of the damage each had taken during their little fight.

" She's not going to be happy with you." Jay murmured and Echo knew exactly what he was talking about.

" Yes, but it's better she hate me for ending her suffering rather than letting it continue." Echo challenged as he poked at the remains of the fire.

" That's very true… Are you sure though that she's worth the fight?" Jay asked, turning to give him a serious look.

Echo had a feeling that he was just asking to try and get more sponsor attention and to make up for the little fight he'd just had with Beata. " Of course. I love Lillian a lot, I spent a lot of time writing and begging for her hand in marriage without my family knowing but she deserves better. She deserves someone from the capitol, not a fisherman. Beata is different. She's not used to all the glitz and glamor of the capitol or living in the president's mansion, she wouldn't be effected as badly if we were to get married and she came to live in four pending Snow's permission naturally." He explained, keeping his eyes on the ground.

" Seems like you've put a bit of thought into this." Jay sighed and dropped his gaze.

" Yeah… Yeah I have. I have a feeling though that it's not going to be her and I leaving these games together. I'm going to do what I can to protect her though, but if it comes down to the three of us, can you do me a favor Jay?" Echo asked, his voice dropping to a whisper.

" Of course, you're like a brother to me, I would do anything for you." Jay told him quickly, honestly meaning it but having no idea what Echo was about to ask of him.

" If it comes down to the three of us, I want you to kill me. If there's going to be two victors, I want it to be you and her. I don't want to have to kill you or her so just kill me. Your parents have already lost a child and aren't having anymore while mine can still have other kids and they haven't lost any yet to the capitol. Just please kill me." He whispered as he shot Jay an urgent look.

Jay looked horrified by the idea and had opened his mouth to object, but at that moment, the seal appeared in the sky and the anthem started to play. " Beata… I think you're going to want to come and see this." Jay called, reluctantly looking from Echo to the sky to see who all had fallen on the first day of games.

Beata sighed and stepped out of the tent, crossing her arms angrily. It was very clear she wasn't happy with Echo by the way she avoided looking at him and even went to stand beside Jay. " What's that?" She asked, jerking her head up towards the sky.

" That my dear, would be all the tributes that died today." Echo told her as he gestured up as the faces started to show up.

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><p><em><strong>Thank you Saltey for your opinion and review, I very much appreciate it!<strong>_

_**Due to some other boredom, I've started to toy around a bit with the idea of doing another fanfic at the same as this one, but it would be about Katniss and Peeta's relationship before Jay, starting just after the 74**__**th**__** Hunger Games, so even just before Leta/Lillian and I'm wondering, would any of you read it? Please let me know! Thanks!**_

_**Also as more reference, I thought I'd include a few more pictures.**_

_**The place where all the mentors are:**_

_**.com/albums/z108/blue_ice_21/RP%**_

_**The arena:**_

_**.com/albums/z108/blue_ice_21/RP%**_


	20. Chapter 20 : Distractions

Chapter 20 – Distractions

Katniss stood with the Doctor in the back corner of the room, talking in hushed voices that sounded tense. Peeta was watching Lillian closely and Finnick was trying to get Annie to fall asleep against him just for a little while, but she wasn't having any of it. The other twelve mentors had gone off to their own rooms and were bored. There really wasn't much for them to do because the boys had gotten the three of them so many supplies and they had somehow been saved by the birds. The Doctor was arguing with Katniss and Peeta didn't feel like dealing with that at the moment. He was sick of everything already, positive that Snow had planned everything to be his own personal hell.

He usually never drank, but because they had anticipated Haymitch in the mentor group, the room had been stocked with liquor of all kinds by the Gamemakers and Peeta sat with a bottle in the corner of the room. Every few seconds he'd press it to his lips and would shudder as the liquid burned its way down his throat. He could have chosen something lighter, better tasting, but he'd craved something stronger that would distract his mind from the ache in his chest. The pain was just too much in his chest and he just wanted some kind of distraction, something to numb himself just a little. The liquor at least helped when it went down and he could feel the waves of drunkenness start to gently slosh at his brain, getting ready for the full waves that were sure to come as well.

For the last few years he had struggled to come to terms with the fact that his oldest child and only daughter was dead, or so he had been told on many occasions by Katniss, the capitol and Snow. Yet standing five feet from him, flirting shamelessly with one of the mentors from four was his daughter. His daughter who had told him that she preferred someone else as her father without even knowing him. Not just anyone else though, but Gale Hawthorne of all people. It had been a low blow as far as he'd been concerned. Snow could have given his daughter to any other family in the capitol, saved anyone from twelve, but it was Gale Hawthorne he'd saved.

Peeta had never liked Gale. He'd tried to be friendly with the man when he and Katniss had started to spend more time with him. It had been a struggle not to hit the man every time they met, but he'd somehow managed. Now Peeta wanted to rip his heart out or at the very least make him feel every pain he'd ever felt because of him. Gale had always held the attention of Katniss when Peeta couldn't so much as get a quick glance. Gale had spent hours with Katniss where Peeta couldn't get two seconds in school. Gale had helped Katniss more times than Peeta could have ever hoped to. Gale had been there when Katniss had found out she was having a girl. Gale had been there for all of Katniss' sleepless nights, to watch as Leta had grown within her, felt Leta kicking in Katniss, held her hand as she'd given birth, everything Peeta had wished he could have done. Gale had now gotten to watch his daughter grow up, be there for more firsts than Peeta, held her when she had a bad dream, comfort her when she got scared and watch her grow into such a wonderful and beautiful young lady. Peeta was jealous.

Yes Peeta had gotten to experience all of that with Jay, but it had been different. Leta had been Katniss and his first child, they had done the toasting in secret because they wanted to raise their baby together, even if there was a chance it wasn't Peeta's. Gale had taken almost everything from him and had even almost managed to steal Katniss away from him. Peeta prayed very hard that he never saw Gale again because he was likely to kill the man just because he could. Even with an artificial leg, he was still faster and stronger than Gale, they had already proven that the last time they had met and Peeta and he had gotten into a very bad physical fight.

" Earth to Peeta! Come in Peeta! Mellark!" Finnick's voice snapped, pulling Peeta from his brooding.

Peeta's head snapped up in Finnick's direction with a deep scowl that would have scared any child. " What?" He demanded roughly, sure that the alcohol was starting to take its effect on him at long last.

" I was just wondering if you needed to take a walk." Finnick sighed, he looked as tense as Peeta felt and to be honest, Peeta felt he needed to get away from Lillian for a while.

" Yes, a walk would be heaven to me at this particular point in time." Peeta sighed as he stood up and set the bottle down on a table. He said nothing else until he was out in the hall and Finnick had shut the door behind him. Peeta let out and anguished yell and whirled around, punching a wall. He very rarely let his temper get in his way, but this was one of the times he was thankful to have something else to hit rather than a person.

" Alright, I can see you're having some issues and I'm guessing they stem from Lillian, I mean Leta, well you know who I mean." Finnick muttered, not really sure what to called Peeta and Katniss' daughter.

" Don't call her Lillian when Katniss isn't around. Lillian is the name that backstabbing man gave her! That is Leta Mellark in there and I'll be damned if I'm going to call her Lillian Hawthorne!" Peeta snapped as he gave Finnick a look that could have killed an elephant.

Finnick nodded and crossed his arms, walking over to sit on a bench. " That's fine by me." He agreed.

Peeta was starting to breathe heavily, his anger finally starting to really make itself known. " _Lillian Hawthorne_, he had the audacity to give her that ridiculous name! Katniss had to fight him for months to get the name Leta and then he turned around and changed it! He couldn't even keep the last name of Everdeen!" He exclaimed, frustrated to no end.

" Maybe it was Snow's idea." Finnick suggested, trying to stay neutral and level headed for Peeta's sake.

" My vote is no. Gale always wanted Katniss and Leta to be his, even though he didn't want to step up when Katniss first found out she was pregnant, he expected me to back down when he decided to play daddy and wanted to actually be involved. He had the guts to try and blackmail me into leaving Katniss and never having anything to do with Leta just so he could win! He never saw Katniss as anything other than a competition and something to be hunted and conquered much like his prey. He's very lucky Katniss doesn't even hate him! Had the attack on the capitol gone the way it was supposed to, his bombs idea would have killed Prim!" Peeta shouted, tugging at his hair.

Finnick was silent for a moment, but when they heard footsteps, both men's heads turned quickly to the sources direction. Finnick jumped up instantly to hold Peeta's arms as Peeta cursed loudly.

" Nice to know what you really thought of me. You were right though, it was my idea to name her Lillian Hawthorne, it should have been her name. I was supposed to marry Katniss, but then you came back from your hijacking and there went that." Gale sighed lazily as he stood in the middle of the hall with a smug look.

Peeta felt the color drain from his face. " You haven't changed a bit you prick." He snarled.

" And neither have you. I thought you would be a lot more civilized what with being a married man and having two kids." Gale countered. He smirked happily at the sight of Finnick however. " Hello there Finnick, it's good to see you again." He said chippily.

" Wish I could say the same to you Gale." Finnick replied curtly.

" Now, now Finnick, no need to be rude to me. I'm only here to help with Echo." He sighed as he waved it off carelessly.

Peeta started to say something, but Katniss swung the doors open and stormed to Peeta, not even noticing Gale. " I want Lillian gone! She was just spouting nonsense about Gale of all people!" She exclaimed.

Peeta wrapped his arms around her protectively as Gale snickered and her face snapped in his direction fiercely. Seeing him, the color drained from her face in an instant, seeming to amuse him. " Lillian gave you the message than Catnip?" He asked playfully as he folded his hands behind his back.

Katniss stammered nonsense for a few seconds before letting out a small groan and fainting in Peeta's arms. " You're in so much trouble when she wakes up…" Peeta murmured as he supported Katniss' slumped over figure.


	21. Chapter 21 : Pricked by the Thorn

Chapter 21 – Pricked by the thorn

Katniss groaned and grabbed her head, slowly forcing her eyes open. She found Finnick, the Doctor and Peeta looming over her. She gasped a little, frightened by how close they were to her. The three men got the picture and backed up a little to give her some more room to breathe.

Katniss sat up slowly and closed her eyes again, fighting the dizziness that was settling on her. " I just had the strangest dream I think… Gale, he was here. He was alive!" She said with a small laugh that sounded almost hysterical.

Peeta's faced paled a little and Finnick cleared his throat. The two shifted uneasily, feeling extremely guilty. She narrowed her eyes at Peeta who moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Finnick and Peeta had carried her into hers and Peeta's room so she didn't have to see Gale, Lillian or any of the other crew.

" There's something you should know Katniss. Now please keep calm alright, we don't need you fainting again or losing your temper…" Peeta started nervously as he took her hands carefully in his.

Katniss nodded slowly. She looked to Finnick and the Doctor who both were refusing to look in her direction. " Peeta, what's happening?" She demanded softly.

" President Snow manipulated you Katniss. He lied to you and he took away the two things most precious to you." Peeta whispered, dropping his gaze to their hands. He took a deep breath and paused a second, trying to collect himself and get prepared for any reaction she might have. " Snow never killed Leta or Gale. Lillian isn't just Snow's great-granddaughter, she's our daughter. Lillian is Leta."

The news hit Katniss like a ton of bricks. She couldn't move, breathe, think, nothing. She couldn't believe what Peeta was saying, it was too much. There was no way that her best friend and daughter's deaths had been faked just to make her do what he wanted. On second thought however, she realized that it was Snow she was thinking about.

She blinked and started to pull away from Peeta, wanting to see for herself if it were true or not. Peeta let her slip away from him and the other two men did nothing to stop her as she stumbled to the door numbly. She paused for a second to look back at Peeta, knowing he had to be happy to have Leta back but angered to have Gale back. She knew she needed to give him some sort of happy thought or piece of good news to counter Gale.

" Peeta… Your brothers and parents, they're alive and safe as well. All the baked goods are from them and they're very much involved in Lillian's life." She told him with small smile, stopping a second to giggle. " I mean your family has been involved with Leta!"

With that she hurried down the hall and to the main room. She saw Gale and Lillian sitting on a couch, Gale holding her close to him as if he were comforting her. Katniss stopped and just stared at them. There he was, her best friend and there she was, her oldest child and only daughter. She had them both back at last!

She didn't even think to stop and question why they were suddenly back in her life, all she knew was she wanted to hold Lillian and cry.

Gale looked in her direction and slowly pulled back from Lillian, standing up. Katniss slowly made her way over to him and he opened his arms for a hug, but she had something else in mind. She didn't hesitate as she raised her hand back and let it fly as hard as it would against his cheek.

The loud smack drew the attention of everyone in the room. Gale gasped and reached up to grab my wrist. " What was that for?" He demanded.

" That is for disappearing without a trace. Taking my daughter away from me and also changing her name! I never liked the name Lillian!" Katniss told him as she ripped her wrist free of his gasp.

" That's my fault how?" He asked, looking to everyone else for support or an answer.

" It is because I say it is. You didn't have to change her beautiful name." She told him firmly before stepping around him towards Lillian. Lillian sat on the couch, looking terrified, breaking Katniss' heart.

" You didn't need to slap my dad." She whispers timidly.

Katniss is slowly and careful as she sits on the couch beside Lillian and faces her. " Don't worry about your dad, he's been through worse before. That slap was more like a tickle." She explained, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

" Your tickles aren't as much fun anymore…" Gale grumbled as he moved to sit on the coffee table in front of Lillian and I.

I glare at him for a moment before looking back to Lillian. " As I was saying, just don't worry about your dad, he's a bit of a drama queen."

This made Lillian laugh and nod in agreement. " Tell me about it." She told Katniss as she rolled her eyes.

Gale started to protest so Katniss held up a hand to silence him. " Gale, you don't get to say another word." Katniss told him, not wanting to hear any more from him. She had been so rude to Lillian and so judgmental of her, something she was very much regretting.

" That can wait, Katniss you need to hear what they have planned." Peeta's voice sounded distant, angry even as he strode into the room with Finnick and the Doctor hot on his heels.

" Gale, what is Peeta talking about?" She asked as she turned to look at Gale. She knew not to trust Gale and before she asked anymore questions.

Peeta sat beside her and wrapped and arm around her waist. He had felt relieved when Katniss had told him about his family still being alive, but the Doctor had quickly squashed that when he told Peeta and Finnick of Gale's plans.

" Katniss, just know I'm doing this for the good of Lillian-" Gale started and after getting terrible looks from Peeta and Katniss, quickly retracted. " Sorry, Leta. I'm doing this for Leta. Your sons made a deal with Snow and I've made a deal with the Doctor. I helped Beata get the sonic screwdriver thingy into the games and he takes Leta and I to another time where she can be safe."

Katniss saw red and flung herself at him, knocking him to the ground. She didn't even pause to consider what deals Echo and Jay could have made with Snow, all she wanted was to beat Gale within an inch of his life. She could feel Peta trying to pull her off of Gale, but she kept hitting him and cursing the day he was born.

" You are not taking my daughter away with you Gale Hawthorne!" She screamed, everyone else in the room, rushing to save Gale and keep Katniss from doing something she'd truly regret.

_**Sorry this took so long to get written. I got caught up with writing the prequel, but now I'm going to be able to balance it out so that I'm not completely focused on only one story and can write both! Sorry this is so short, but hopefully it'll keep you satisfied until I can get it figured out how to write the next chapter…**_


	22. Chapter 22 : Time

Chapter 22 – Time

As Echo watches the sky, he's not surprised by the number of deaths. They've seen smoke, heard explosions and had ash falling on them for most of the day so it was inevitable that so many would die. Now it was down to five tributes in only a couple of days, a record setting season since it was blowing by so quickly. Surely the Capitol citizens weren't too amused by the short games but Echo didn't think Snow cared since the less tributes remaining, the quicker he and Jay would have to kill Beata.

Jay worries Echo though, Jay seemed to be falling head over heels for Beata. The two did their watches together, slept curled up together and were always glancing up at each other, blushing or smiling when they were caught. It probably wasn't the best move since Echo was supposed to be pretending to be in love with Beata, but he just stood by and let Jay have his moment since he hadn't acted in such a way since Elizabeth. Echo instead let his mind wonder to Lillian a lot.

He sighed heavily and threw the knife in his hand at a tree, trying to clear his head. He heard Jay murmur something to Beata before coming up beside him, laying a hand on Echo's shoulder. " There's five of us left, you, Beata, the boy from ten and the boy from eight. We can't keep this up much longer." Jay whispered, his eyes drifting back to Beata who was cooking.

Echo nodded slowly, looking in Beata's direction, knowing exactly what Jay was talking about. " I know. The Capitol has to be growing restless with the three of us." He said softly, not wanting Beata to hear them. To anyone listening to them however it would seem like a normal conversation between alliance members as the numbers dropped, but Snow, Jay and Echo knew the true meaning so it made the two boys want to still keep it from Beata.

" Beata came up with a good idea. Maybe if we draw the others to the edge, the Gamemakers will come up with something to help us. There can be only one so maybe they'll even do us the honors of choosing which of us will survive so we don't have to." Jay suggested as he took a knife from Echo and tossed it at the same tree Echo had been.

" Sounds like a plan to me… Kinda sucks that this is it for us. It all will come down to who's got the most sponsors or who will cause the most excitement in the Capitol." Echo mused tossing a knife and handing another to Jay. " You two have a plan of attack yet?"

Jay shook his head and sighed. " Not yet. If the Gamemaker's are going to throw in twists about the number of tributes to survive, it should be soon. Might as well wait until then before we do anything else, don't want to do something stupid that we're really going to regret. I mean we've explored the artic section and we're headed now back towards the Cornucopia so on our way we can plan something I'm sure." He explained in an almost bored tone but Echo knew the truth behind his words. They wouldn't make any definite plans until they knew if Snow was going to honor his pact with them yet or not.

" Sounds smart to me." Echo agreed as Jay threw the knife in his hands.

Jay nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. " Two games and I'm still not prepared to die, funny isn't it? My parents faced death with more dignity when they were younger. Heck I even faced death with more dignity during my first games!" He exclaimed softly, shaking his head in total disbelief of himself.

" Don't think about that yet Jay, you know the Gamemaker's are going to make it so that two tributes are going to win this year. You and Beata are going to win, it's easy to tell." Echo told him with a small laugh, going over to the tree and retrieving their knives. He knew it wasn't true, Snow would never allow that but he wanted to have a bit of fun teasing Jay.

" Why do you think that?" Jay asks, genuinely confused and takes a couple of knives from Echo.

" It's easy to tell you've falling in love with Beata. You might not want to admit it, but you're falling for one of my girls." Echo teased as he threw a knife.

Jay stared at him with a stunned expression. " What are you talking about? I've only ever had eyes for Elizabeth." He defended quickly.

Echo rolled her eyes and Jay threw his knives, one right after another. " Whatever Jay, I'm not going to try and make you see anything you don't already. Just think about it though, Elizabeth's been gone now for a couple of years and she wouldn't want you to spend your whole like pinning after her." Echo told him with a small shake of his head.

Jay opened his mouth to press the issue, but the anthem played and horns went off. The two boys looked at each other curiously. The nightly show of tributes had already occurred and the feast had passed too. That meant just one thing…

" In honor of having two children of Victors, a double tribute and a first time tribute from District T.A.R.D.I.S, President Snow has authorized a rule change. Two tributes will be allowed to be crowned Victor. The final two Tributes I repeat will be crowned Victor this year. Thank you and may the odds be _ever_ in your favor." Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed overhead.

" You don't think…" Jay trailed off and Echo just nodded. Snow had gotten their little hint and was responding to it. They now knew without a doubt that he was going to hold them to their word.

" Well then I guess it's to an edge tomorrow…" Echo said, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

" Guess so… Come on, we need plenty of rest if we're going to do this. Beata's got dinner going for us and we need to get that fire out." Jay said, running his fingers through his hair before going to retrieve the knives once more and the two walked back to a smiling Beata who didn't suspect a thing of the two boys who had been protecting her.

Little did Beata know that her time in Panem was quickly running out…

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><p><em><strong>Sorry this is short, but it's setting things up for the next major part. It's sad to say the end is coming soon for this particular story but I have something in mind for afterwards... Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed this story, gave me their input on which chapter I should upload and to those silent readers who added me to their alertfavorite lists! I love you all!**_


	23. Chapter 23 : Sonic Butt Saver

Chapter 23 – Sonic Butt Saver

Jay sat staring that the ring he'd been allowed to bring into the arena with him, Abigail and Echo had gone to check out how far they were from the snow just after the two boys had had their little discussion. Abigail's ring, with all its imperfections was still the most beautiful ring in all of Panem in his opinion. He had always dreamed of giving her his own ring, he'd fallen so love with her over the years and only wanted her. Now he was finding it was changing and it was breaking his heart.

He found his thoughts drifting towards Beata more recently. Her laughs rings in his ears in the silence, her tears send a shooting pain through his whole being and her very touch sent chills of excitement to every part of his body. She was an enchanting young woman and she made him believe that Abigail's death wasn't his fault.

" Beata, be reasonable! Do you really think that that little toy there is going to help us?" Echo asks as he and Beata return from the edge of the arena.

" I told you Echo, I can't explain it yet, but this is going to help us and would you please stop calling it a toy? This is a high tech piece of futuristic alien technology that no one even in your Capital could have dreamed of, it deserves more respect than to be referred to as a simple toy. It can do more functions than your brain can even begin to comprehend." Beata snapped, obviously at wits ends with him and having had the argument for a while thus far. By the edge to her voice, I'd even go so far as to say she was insulted by Echo and how careless he was to remember what she'd told him or asked of him.

" Then tell me what it can do. All of it." Echo challenges and Jay rolled his eyes. Echo hadn't done a very good job at acting in love in Jay's opinion and this was just helping him to believe in that. In Jay's opinion as well, Echo was just lucky that he and Jay the sons of four Victors and so we're not depending on his love for Beata to gain them more sponsors because he just plain awful at performing his one task. Jay couldn't help but be extremely grateful that they'd grabbed so much and that Capital citizens were all too happy to support the sons of Victor's so happily and freely.

" I told you already, I can't." With that the two emerge at last from the trees and Beata looks exhausted. She gives Jay a small smile before going into the one set up tent.

Echo shakes his head and sits beside Jay. " I swear that girl is going to be the death of us… Literally." Echo whispers.

Jay looked up at him in confusion. " What are you talking about?"

Before Echo could respond, Beata came back out with her pack on. " Come on boys, it's time to end these games. Let's get packed up." She instructed the two boys.

They both looked at each other in utter disbelief. Beata had never taken control but her voice had been stern, no questions about it and she expected them to jump up and do as she said right away. As if to prove this point, she called her hands and snapped 'chop-chop' before glaring at the two boys.

" I really don't want to be saying I told you so when we get to the other side…" Echo murmured with a heavy sigh.

They felt they had no other option and immediately set to work on taking down the camp site. They packed everything away and strapped on the packs to their backs. There was less for them to have to haul around now that the games had been going for a while and they'd used a lot of their resources, but it still felt like a ton to them to have to pack to an unknown destination.

Without another word, Beata started off into the tress. The boys were hesitant to follow at first, naturally second guessing the girl who had been so timid to begin with but now suddenly had enough fire within to rival that of Katniss Everdeen herself, both thought that she had simply suddenly gone mad from the games and hurried after her, fully intending to protect her or aid in her doom if it came down to it. Neither boy had made their mind up about what they would do should they have to choose between letting her slip away or helping her escape an unfortunate end and figured they'd simply cross that bridge when they reached it.

Every time they tried to speak, she would shoot them each an angry face and tell them that the less they knew, the better. They figured it was just easier not to push her and go with whatever she said. An experience they had learned from their father's. Plus everyone knew better than to try and corner a mad man (or woman in this case) because that was when they got deadly and or reckless.

They all three stumbled softly through the forest, keeping to the edge of the trees but careful not to step a foot into the snowy part of the arena. Echo and Jay kept exchanging concerned looks but followed her none the less. They bit their tongues and kept all their questions and remarks to themselves, not sure if they really wanted to know the plan yet or not. To them, Beata was acting a little too strange and they were both on edge.

Snow expected Beata to die and surely all the camera's in Panem were on them at that exact moment, Snow naturally wanting to be sure that their final battle was viewed by all in Panem and Beata's death to be made an example of. Both of the boys were certain that a special announcement was sent out and all TV's in Panem were being turned on either by the owners or by Capitol switch. One way or another, everyone, everywhere in Panem was about to see whatever Beata had planned and what Snow hoped to be her end.

" We're here." Beata whispered, stopping suddenly. She held out her arms to stop the two boys from walking any further.

" What are we doing exactly?" Jay whispered, giving her a stern look. He didn't like that he knew nothing about what was happening.

" We're going home." She said, turning her head to face Jay and smiling.

At that moment, the sound of two cannons rang out, one right after another. Echo and Jay exchanged a slightly panicked look. They knew the Gamemaker's had done that on purpose, Snow was making it so that they had no other option. One of them was going to have to die to end the game now because there were to be two Victors.

They all three remained silent for a long moment, but it was interrupted by a slightly hysterical laugh that escaped Beata's hard face. " Now what?" Beata asked softly, looking to the two boys with a fierce expression. " Now you two gang up and kill me just as Snow has ordered? I know about the bribe and I know that you two already accepted the deal." She tells them in a flat, emotionless tone.

The two boys looked at with wide eyes, no idea how she ever could have found out the truth. " Wh-what are you talking about?" Echo stuttered, flustered and trying to seem as if he really had no idea. The nervous shake to his voice however gave him away right from the start.

" I'm not stupid and I have informants on the outside." She stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the odd token she'd brought, the thing she'd called a ' Sonic Screwdriver'. " This boys is how I'm going to spare you both and we can all get what we want. Say hello to the Sonic Screwdriver. It can pick locks on anything, well except for wood or deadlock's, it can scan for alien life, do medical scans, can receive messages from the Doctor and its newest function, saving our behinds." She told the boys with a proud smile on her face.

Echo's eyes were wide and when he turned his head to Jay, he saw that he was equally stunned and unsure about what to think of the seemingly harmless thing. Echo forced a lump out of his throat, audibly gulping. " Told you she'd be the death of us." He hissed to Jay who remained speechless.

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><p><em><strong>Just a couple more chapter's left in this story... Please review and let me know what you thought! I'm sorry it took so long to update, I just kept drawing a blank but I have a rotation system for my stories set up so now it won't take so long hopefully... Just let me know what you thought and show me some love please! (:<strong>_


	24. Chapter 24 : TARDIS to the Rescue

_**Sorry it took so long! Here's the next installment however... I don't own Hunger Games or Doctor Who! I swear!**_

_**ALSO! Soooooooo many thanks to my incredible new beta chocolate-chip-cookie-monster who has not only saved me time, but also saved me from a headache which my liver/kidneys (I can never remember which one ibuprofen is supposed to be bad for...). Thank you so much!**_

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 24 – T.A.R.D.I.S. to the Rescue<span>**

Katniss and Peeta were panicked as they watched the screens. Gale and the Doctor has snuck away from the group some time ago, going after the T.A.R.D.I.S. and promising to return before the big show down that was inevitable. Katniss was a complete wreck as her eyes kept drifting from the screens to poor Leta who looked beside herself as she watched Echo and Jay.

Peeta could see what was going on and felt more on edge for another reason. He ground his teeth and fidgeted with the plate of cookies sitting on the table before him, trying not to worry too much.

Gale and the Doctor were not only getting the T.A.R.D.I.S., but also his family. They were all going to escape. This excited Peeta because at last he was going to see his siblings and parents again but he was also going to have to deal with another fact that hadn't escaped his attention despite how much he'd tried to avoid seeing it.

He cleared his throat and stepped over the where Leta stood. "You really feel something for him, don't you?" he whispered low enough for only Leta to hear.

Leta sucked in a deep breath, stiffening. "Excuse me?" she whispered, feigning innocence and confusion.

"I'm your father Leta. I may not have raised you or seen you since you were just a baby, but I still know when I'm losing my baby girl to another man… I can tell now that it's happening. You truly love Echo Odair, don't you?" he says softly, looking down at her with a loving expression.

She blushes and looks up at me with a sad expression. "I do… I don't think he's ever really paid attention to me when grandfather Snow wasn't forcing him to. He made us spend so much time together, but our letters back and forth are what won my heart over… It'll never work between us however," she looks down and he feels horrible.

He wraps his arms around her and pulls her close. "I believe he does notice you and he does feel for you. Watch and see baby girl." he whispers, kissing the top of her head. "Odair would be a fool not to see you or want you sweetling."

She laughs softly and nods. "You're really rusty at this father-daughter stuff aren't you?" she teases, wrapping her arms around him.

He laughs and nods, closing his eyes. "Excuse me for it… I've been raising a son all this time and had my daughter ripped away from me. I'm going to work my hardest though to be the best father to the greatest daughter on the planet," he promised her.

"You already are daddy… You already are," she whispers in response. Her words bring tears to Peeta's eyes and he pulls her closer.

The two stay like that for a moment, causing curiosity to rise up in Katniss. Before she could ask what it was all about, a loud, wheezing groan rang out around the room.

_Vworrrp__._

_Vworrrp__._

_Vworrrp__._

A breeze rushed around them and the three spun around, trying to find the source. A blue box slowly materialized just as an alarm began blaring.

Katniss, Peeta and Leta stared, wide eyed and confused at the blue box before them that read 'Police Call Box'. When a door swung open and the Doctor popped his head out, grinning much like the Cheshire Cat from Leta's favorite childhood book.

"Well come on then! That's our cue!" he shouts with laughter before disappearing again.

The three didn't have to be told twice and ran right into the box, only hesitating as the door closed behind them and they faced something they didn't know could exist…

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><p>Leta cursed as she hit the Sonic Screwdriver in the palm of her hand for the tenth time. Jay and Echo were growing uneasy as they watched the trees around them, not trusting anything. They could hear inhuman sounds growing closer and knew that the finale was closing in on them. Fast.<p>

"Beata… We need to move," Jay told her, getting an arrow in position to be fired.

"No! This is going to work!" she snapped back at him.

"BEATA!" Echo yelled back at her, knives twirling in his hands and ready to throw.

Suddenly a high pitch noise rang out and Beata cried with joy. She pointed the screwdriver at the force field and held it there. The invisible wall groaned and complained in its own secret language as the screwdriver broke it down, beating it.

Jay and Echo only looked away from the woods to see what was going on for half a second.

That half a second was all it took for a lightning fast creature to leap out, striking Jay, knocking him to the ground and snapping at his neck with five rows of razor sharp teeth.


	25. Chapter 25 : Time Is Never a Friend

Time is such a funny thing when you stop to look at it. It's such a fickled part of our lives. Time can stand still for one man but rush by another on its own whim. It controls every aspect of our lives whether we wish to admit it or not. We truly are slaves to the sands of time, drowning in the little grains of seconds every moment that we take a deep breath.

No one felt time beating down on them as Katniss did in those minutes. Watching Peeta, Gale and Peeta's brother's rush from the T.A.R.D.I.S. towards the screaming corpse that was her son, she felt everything in her shatter. Time moves so much faster for parents and Katniss felt she had not yet had enough time with her little boy. Her little Jay. Her biggest reason for continuing on in life.

She saw not the man the whole world saw, she saw her baby. The one she hadn't fully wanted but had felt better about having. The infant she sung to every night, wondering up and down the halls of their home in Victor's Village. The toddler who used to set up his mini easel next to Peeta's and paint colorful lines that she happily hung on the fridge and walls. The young man who would play sick so he could stay home and help in the bakery versus go to school. The boy who loved to sneak out into the woods and learn to use the bow with his mother as if it were the greatest skill he'd ever learn in life. This was the boy she saw laying limp on the ground, surrounded by torn clothing, gear and in his own blood.

Peeta saw the exact same thing as he approached and it broke his heart into a million little pieces. He'd always been able to protect his son, always able to chase away his demons. This time he couldn't. As the group of men approached, Peeta could feel the pain he'd felt when he saw Leta being snatched away. This proved to him once more just how weak he was, how no matter what he couldn't protect his own family from the grasp of Snow so long as he lived in Panem.

This further assured him of his choice being the correct one.

Peeta scooped his body up as carefully as possible and rushed him into the T.A.R.D.I.S. There was no breath in Jay's lunges. No movement and not a sound from him. Katniss was paralyzed with fear as Doctor led a pale father into a back room as quick as possible. Beata had to think quick as the other men returned to the comfort of the blue box, quickly getting the T.A.R.D.I.S up and running, quickly commanding the box to take them where she felt the only hope for Jay Mellark...

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><p><em><strong>So sorry this took so long! Please excuse any mistakes I made grammar wise, I had to beta it myself and I'm not the greatest in catching my own mistakes. There will be an epilogue and then that will be it... Thanks to anyone who reads this, please review!<strong>_


	26. Chapter 26: Gone

_**It's been a great run. When I started this, I was only the third DW/HG crossover fic. I've had fun and I hope you all enjoy this ending. This is the first time I've ever ended any story so I hope this is a good way to end it. Keep your eyes peeled, I'll be writing plenty more and the story leading up to this, Bread of on Fire, as well as my three other fanfics. Thank you all for all the reviews and favorites, it's been a wild ride and here's to a great ending!**_

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><p>Jay Mellark was surrounded by all those he deemed closest to him. He stared up at the high vaulted ceilings of the unusual and unfamiliar room. His eyes couldn't focus on anything, but he had the sense that the sight before him was beautiful.<p>

A pool of crimson surrounded his hair, dying his blonde hair with the sticky, thick substance. He could faintly hear the choking sobs of his family, his sister crying.

His sister.

How odd it was to say his sister was alive. After all this time, she was part of the family again. He had grandparents, uncles, they were a real family. He wouldn't be joining them though, there was someone else in the crowd who was becoming clearer.

Her face was every bit as beautiful and angelic as he remembered. She had a sad smile on her face as she looked at him, extending one hand out to him.

Abigail.

Her green eyes showed she was at peace, her long, curly blonde hair lightly billowing around her angelic face. "Come home Jay… Come home please." She whispered in an oh so tempting voice.

He opened her mouth, struggling for words. The mutts had badly damaged his throat and he could feel the life draining from him as quickly as the blood.

He floundered for words. As much as he wanted to be at peace with Abigail, he wasn't ready to leave everyone else. He knew he had no choice in this matter. Snow had won with battle, he had given the Mellark-Everdeen family the blow they needed to bring them to their knees.

"I don't wanna go." He choked as his eyes slid closed.

Katniss screamed as she watched her son take his last breath. Finn pulled her, kicking and screaming from the room as the Doctor froze, leaned over and gave a silent last blessing to the brave young man who had sacrificed his life to free his companion and family.

"May you rest in peace Jay Mellark. Find your Abigail and live happily ever after." He whispered before turning his back to leave, giving the family time to grieve alone.


End file.
